Book 4A: Matter
by Writingathing
Summary: Korra the Avatar by day, Communist Batman by night, must face off against a Malaysian vampire, Chinese Jesus and Albert Einstein for control of Republic City.
1. The Queen of the Kingdom of Isolation

For six months the South Pole was dark, and for six months the South Pole was light. The time when the dark became light was known as Dawn, the return of the sun, and all the Avatar had to do was not mess it up.

"What if I mess it up?" Korra asked.

"You won't mess it up," Arnook said.

Korra leaned over the edge of the kayak and stared at the black water below. She was definitely going to mess it up.

"Korra!" Arnook said. The leader of the White Lotus, which made him officially in charge of Preparing the Avatar for Her Destiny scowled at her from the back of the kayak. He stood though he was short enough to be level with most men sitting. He tugged on his grey beard. "Straighten up. Focus. The village's eyes are on you, the Avatar."

Probably only the fact that they would be reaching the iceberg soon kept Arnook from launching into a full lecture. But, Korra reflected, peering up at the sight of the slowly approaching iceberg, Arnook was always lecturing her. Your Role As Mediator Between Spirits and People. The Avatar's Duties Privileges, and Responsibilities: Part 1 of 100. Then, after those failed to take, Arnook tried more basic subjects. Sit Up Straight and Don't Fidget During Important Ceremonies. Polar Bear Dogs Are Not Your Friends. No, You Can't Stick The Other Girls In Blocks of Ice Because They Made Fun of Your Ponytail.

She always answered his lectures the same way. "I understand, _Arnak_," and tried to stifle a laugh. Arnook's name sounded too much like the word for "woman," a pun Korra found endlessly hilarious.

Arnook got mad when she didn't take things seriously, but he didn't get how tough being the Avatar was. Point in case: every six months she had to climb an iceberg and Call the Sun or Return the Moon. It's not like anyone could tell her _how_.

"Trust your instincts," Arnook had said. "Your past lives, all the previous Avatars, will guide you."

Korra looked behind her, an old reflex. "I've never seen them before. Maybe they're out pissing?"

He laid his thick, callused hand on her shoulder. "I know you can do it, Korra. I believe in you."

"Whale snot, Arnook." She rolled her eyes, fighting a blush. "I'll _do_ it. No need to embarrass us acting all girly just 'cause that's how you're named."

So the day of the Dawn came. The villagers floated out in kayaks of whale yak skin to the Avatar's Hundred-Year Chamber. All the Very Important Angakunekut carrying their tornat to ward the raya took the lead, of course, forming a procession for her to pass through. Katara, the Official Old Woman of the tribe and Inua of the waves, ilisineked the way clear for the Avatar, using her own spiritual power to hold back all the spirits that contested over the domain of the iceberg, not that Korra had ever seen one. Arnook said that they were invisible. When Korra asked how he knew they were there, he tugged on his beard tremendously and started another lecture.

After Katara was done ilisineking the bad spirits away, Korra climbed to the top of the iceberg. She looked up to where the green and red sheets of the southern lights danced in the sky like the waves of heaven. That was Dawn, Arnook said, at least the green part. Now she just had to let her soul fly out of her body, soar to the edge of the ocean where it rose up to touch the sky, and ask the sun to come visit.

Korra shivered on top of the iceberg. She wondered how weird it must have been to wake up and find that it's One Hundred Years Later and Everything Has Changed.

What if Aang _hadn't_ slept for a hundred years and died earlier? Would she have even been born? It was a scary thought.

Eventually she got to talking with the Moon and the Sun and the Dawn and everything else that was supposed to be floating up there.

"Why hello Mr. Moon," she said. "I'm here to say goodbye. Please come back soon."

"Hello, Avatar Korra," the moon responded in her best impression of a baritone. "I'd love to come back."

"And hello to you, Ms. Dawn. Feel free to let the sun shine."

"No problem, Avatar Korra," the dawn replied in a falsetto. "Your ponytail is lovely, by the way."

After she got bored of that game, she started naming stars.

"That's the Runners," she said, looking at three stars all in a line. "And those are the Dogs and those are the Nephews and Nieces. The Old Woman," Korra thought fondly of Katara. "And the Murdered Man." There was supposed to be a fox in the sky too, but Korra couldn't find it.

The stars would go away if the sun visited, right? They looked like broken fragments of ice scattered over a vast emptiness that seemed to call to her somehow. Arnook wouldn't let her go to the observatory east of their village, but she still sought out all the stars and their stories like they were pockets of warmth in the desert.

"That's where I belong," Korra thought. "Maybe I can ask the sun to stay away for a bit." But then she got to worrying that it _would_ if she asked. People would notice and start asking questions.

"I don't know what I'm doing, Aang," she whispered.

But he didn't answer. She looked down at all the waiting villagers, Katara watching proudly from beside the Angakunekut, Arnook's tense face. All of them looked up at her from in the kayaks around the iceberg.

Korra felt a glow of pride. She was up here Avataring, somehow, and the whole village depended on her to bring the sun for a while. It was her job to do it right.

She waved her finger at the sky. "Now listen to me, Sun. You've got to come for a while or I'll put the meanest ilisinek on you like you've never seen before. And Ms. Moon, not that we haven't enjoyed your stay, but it's time for a change. Hoping you'll come back before long though." She lowered her hand and glanced back at the villagers and Arnook below. Good enough. She gave the night stars and the warm curtains of the southern lights one last longing look and slid mostly on her butt down the iceberg.

Arnook gathered her in his arms and squeezed her tight. "You did it. Well done." Korra heartened at that. Somehow she had done it.

But later she admitted to Arnook that she didn't remember flying out of her body or talking to any spirits at all, not really. He said she wasn't remembering due to her lack of a connection with her spiritual self. When she asked how to get a connection with her spiritual self, Arnook told her to pay more attention to his lectures.

So it went every six months. Korra pretended to talk to the spirits, and they must have pretended to listen, for the light and darkness came and went as scheduled every year. It felt more right than anything, seeing the moon come and go on schedule, although the moments just before were always nerve-wracking—she could never shake the feeling that one day the moon was going to surprise her.

The weight of the responsibility was heady stuff, as scary as it was fulfilling. It didn't help not understanding just how she was doing her Avatar business. But gradually she realized there was a lot more to Avataring than calling the night and bringing the day. Like bending. Striking with her muscles and watching the far ice tear away came to her as naturally as spiritual business didn't.

Arnook didn't seem to mind her focus on the physical side of Avatarness. If anything, he encouraged it.

"Spirits are strange and fickle creatures," he said. "They do not obey the same rules we do, they do not care about the same things. But bending is a solid and true aspect of this world. Once mastered, it will always be with you. It will never fail you. An Avatar is strong, Korra. Above all else the Avatar is strong."

So Korra got good at bending, better than anyone and proud of it. She could beat the White Lotus guards one-on-one by the age of ten, but Arnook wasn't satisfied. She could beat three by the age of fifteen, and he still seemed pensive, nervous even.

"What do I need to do?" she asked bluntly one day. "If I'm doing something wrong—"

"Master the four elements," Arnook said. His beard was grayer, his face more wrinkled. Time had treated him poorly. "Your destiny will reveal itself to you in time."

"I'm trying."

"I know."

Water, Earth, Fire, Air. That was the order of the elements she needed to master to be the Avatar. She could bend all of them except for air, but what 'master' meant she didn't know. When she was little she imagined mastering an element would come with a ingitsak, a click or some kind of Sign the element was Mastered. But as far as she could tell, when and how she mastered an element had more to do with a set training schedule and an eye for how precise her forms were, not how quickly she matched and outdid her masters or any sort of Avatar ingitsak.

Still, the first two elements came easily enough. She had been waterbending since she was a girl, and when Arnook had rock shipped in she took to earthbending like a rockfish takes to land. Firebending was supposed to be harder, being opposed to water and all, but if anything Korra was better with fire than the other two elements. But her firebending master remained unimpressed.

"Your power and aggression are unparalleled," he said, "As is your rage. What makes you so angry?"

"I'm not angry at all."

"I can see it in your fire. Listen, little Avatar, mastery of firebending is not a matter of your external strength. Ever since the time of Fire Lord Zuko, mastery of firebending has been understood to be an internal matter of humility and gratitude for life."

She hated when he called her that. "So me being the best firebender on this island doesn't make me a master?"

"Never."

"That sounds like a load of whale snot."

It took her waterbending and earthbending masters three years each to realize that she was a master. The third year came and passed and her firebending master continued to obstinately insist she had not mastered fire.

Even worse, Arnook wasn't on her side. "Your mastery of the elements remains incomplete," he said as her fourth year began. His voice was heavy with tiredness and despair. "The Inua of fire laments the stubborn attitude you take to firebending. He says you are ungrateful."

"I take firebending more seriously than anything!" Korra shouted. Arnook's disapproval didn't mean much, but his disappointment, when he thought she wasn't measuring up to the task of being the Avatar, that hurt.

Besides, she was _pissed_. "We knew this was going to be the hardest element. I'm a piss-drenched _waterbender_. Fire opposes me, okay? But he just keeps saying I'm not grateful enough! Moon's ilisinek, Arnook I don't get this internal firebending stuff and he won't explain!"

Years of stress showed on Arnook's face. It was only accelerating as time passed, but he wouldn't say what weighed on his mind no matter how much she begged or worried. "Korra, you must give up this pride. He will not remain on the island forever."

"I'm a great firebender!" Korra smashed the tent flap open with a fireball. "I don't see what else there is to learn! He's just mad that I'm stronger than he is."

She strode out of the tent, tugging Naga, her polar bear dog, with her. Three weeks later, her firebending master left for the Fire Nation, saying the Avatar was incapable of learning.

Arnook, apoplectic, vowed to set a storm of raya on the Fire Nation, but Katara calmed his rage. "These things are not so set in stone," she said. "I wouldn't say that Aang had quite mastered water bending when he began learning earthbending. All his life he was still improving even his airbending."

The words of the Inua of waves and widow of the the previous Avatar, Aang, carried no small weight. Arnook made the decision to call Tenzin to the South Pole.

Tenzin. Now there was a name that set the whole island's imagination to work. Tenzin was famous, of course: the only airbending master in the world, son of the living legend Katara and the Avatar Aang, her past life—did that make Tenzin her son? She would have to ask Arnook, or maybe just try putting Tenzin in timeout—and Representative of the Air Nomads to the United Republic Council. High in demand, he traveled the world with his family when he wasn't working in Republic City, spreading the Air Nomad culture and knowledge of airbending. It meant that when he flew down on his sky bison to visit his mother and Arnook and Korra at the South Pole, he came bearing all manner of gifts: iron from the Fire Nation, art and scrolls from the Earth Kingdom, and all manner of remarkable baubles, trinkets and gadgets from Republic City.

The villagers loved him, calling him the Inua of storms though he was pale as a baby and wore robes of saffron—only the arrow tattoo on his shaven head was blue. For Korra, he was a way out.

The last element was air, and Tenzin was the only airbending master in the world. For years she had imagined the day he would declare her a master, making her a fully realized Avatar. It wasn't much fun not being who she was. Besides, it'd make Arnook positively giddy.

But Tenzin was a busy man. A Representative, he needed to be in Republic City when he wasn't traveling the world. Even a snow-blind fool could see that he couldn't train her at the South Pole. She'd have to go with him to the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom, the islands and air temples and the great city in the center of the world, Republic City, where everyone went and everything came from.

So for a year Korra trained in water, earth and fire, her muscles growing along with her bending prowess. When the rest of the village slept she was awake, resting against Naga and looking up into the sky, waiting for Tenzin to take her with him from the white desert to the world of colors beyond.

* * *

"I'm sorry, Korra, but I won't be taking you with me," Tenzin said. "Our training together will have to be delayed."

Korra gazed up where Tenzin's blue arrow tattoo curved down his shaved head, the point meeting just above the space between his serious dark eyes. "Why?"

"I am a Representative, a council member of Republic City, and right now…well, things aren't very stable, and I need to be there to—"

"That's fine. I already thought of that." Korra held up one hand and then the other like she was weighing fish at the market. Arnook grimaced. "You have your duties to the Avatar, which I—I mean, my past life and your father, Aang, entrusted you, but you also have you responsibilities to the city. So I'll go with you. Problem solved." She slid her hands together, deciding the deal.

Tenzin wasn't fooled. "Korra, I am truly sorry. I know how important it is to you to complete your training—"

"No, you don't," Korra muttered.

"—But right now the city is a very dangerous place, especially for an excitable, untrained Avatar running about."

Korra searched for a response. Anger came up. "I can't believe this! I'm the Avatar! I'm your dad, maybe!" (Arnook shook his head.) "You—there's no one else! You have to train me!"

Tenzin moved his hand towards Korra's shoulder, but she knocked it away. "Korra, Republic City is nearing a crisis. You, the Avatar, are too precious to be risked. Your training will wait until this trouble has passed."

"Then why did you even come here?"

"In order to see my mother, and to discuss some matters with Arnook, and above all, to check on you. I may not be able to visit for some time."

Arnook spoke. "Korra, I agree with Tenzin. As much as I would like to see your training completed as soon as possible, now is not the time."

"You!" Korra rounded on him. "You said something, you did this, you know he can't stay here and _you didn't want me to leave!_"

"No, Korra," Tenzin said. "I decided this on my own. Arnook has also learned of my decision just now."

"But I'm the Avatar!" Korra cried. "If Republic City is unstable, let me bring balance to it. I've got to start doing that stuff sometime, don't I?"

"No, in this case...bringing the Avatar to Republic City might just make things worse. This is one problem the Avatar can't solve."

"Would you say that to your _father_, if he was still alive?"

Tenzin looked shocked, but Arnook interrupted. "Korra! I think there's been enough of this. Tenzin showed generosity and respect in coming here and telling you himself. He does not need to listen to your childish tantrums. You are the Avatar, and you will behave as such."

Korra hesitated to speak; they would be able to hear the catch in her throat. "I thought you of all people would want my training done as quickly as possible, Arnook. I'm the Avatar. Aang told the White Lotus to search for the next Avatar—to search for _me_—and watch over my training. Why aren't you telling Tenzin to take me with him?"

"Both because I do not command Tenzin and because his assessment is correct," Arnook said. "And because power is a responsibility that can only grow alongside patience and understanding. Your selfishness today is unbecoming of an Avatar."

"Then when am I going to finish my training?" Her voice was a whisper, and it cracked.

"I promise I will return to train you as soon as possible," Tenzin said.

She looked into his dark eyes. "But you're here now because you won't be coming back for a long time."

"You still have a great deal of history and spiritual lore to learn," Arnook said. "Don't think that airbending is all that remains of your training." He sounded almost jovial. "There is still a lot of work for us to do here while Tenzin is busy. Perhaps when he is able to return, you may travel with him."

Tenzin's eyes flickered, but the rest of him was as straight as the blue arrow tattoo. He did not say anything. One day later, he left.

It took a few days for it to sink in that Tenzin had left without her. Arnook tried to act like everything was normal, cajoled her, even tried to distract her with a curriculum on astronomy. He was bad at it though, and she could sense the fear and worry behind his thick grey beard.

After a week, Korra forced herself to confront the fact that Tenzin had left and would not be coming back. She could stay on the island forever, never becoming the Avatar. Maybe the cycle would just move on without her, reincarnating in someone new while she lived out the rest of her days as an old woman put out on an iceberg whenever the village needed some serious ilisinek. She could, now that she thought about it, hurry up the cycle herself, and her thoughts turned to the harsh and frozen desert, tall cliffs and the crashing cold waves a hundred feet below. Maybe that was the responsible thing to do.

But...some part of her couldn't let it go. She tried, and she found herself awake in the night, covered in sweat and trembling.

The next day Korra wrapped Arnook in a massive hug that might've broken a rib or two, judging by the way he pounded desperately on her back. She clutched Katara briefly, waved bye to her parents and took Naga down to the docks where ships stopped to trade. A master waterbender had no trouble sneaking on board a large merchant ship as it left the port. A brief look-around and she waterbended Naga up and into the boat. They settled together inside the storage room for the night.


	2. The Ship

_Red blood seeps out from a still-breathing body, pouring out onto the dusty stone floor. Hands drag at the body to pull it inside but drop it like a hot coal at the snap of a sharp voice. Someone shouts for a medic._

_Blood is still spilling out of the man's neck, pooling into a dark puddle around his head that smells of copper if copper could smell sweet. A pair of gloved hands swipe at the ragged, deep tear in the man's neck, blotting away blood to clear the airway. Another gloved hand applies a clean dressing to the neck, and a third hand, thin rough, and ungloved, lays on top of the man's chest, covering the small silver Captain's insignia._

"Hey, you two!"

The captain of the ship pointed a finger. "There're weird sounds coming from below deck. Go check it out!"

Damn. "Yes, Captain," Shinji saluted and headed down the ship to the bottom level with along with Matsuda, the other swabbie, as the older sailors called them. Not five minutes through the corridor, a loud guttural roar and the sound of heavy boxes falling over made them jump.

"What was that?" Shinji gripped the handle of his thin sword.

"It came from the storage room." Matsuda drew his sword. "Let's go."

They crept slowly toward the storage room. Shinji wasn't sure at what height or angle he was supposed to hold his sword. For that matter, he couldn't remember having ever used it before. You were never supposed to draw it except during an emergency, and there had never been an emergency.

They pressed themselves against either side of the door to the storage room. Intermittently there was a sound like something growling and heavy things tumbling.

"After you," Shinji said.

Matsuda gripped door handle. He closed his eyes. "You better be coming after me. Here goes nothing." Matsuda pulled the handle down and opened the door. "Aaaaaahhh!" He waved his sword and ran inside.

Shinji tried to grip his sword through a layer of sweat._ If I run now, I'm a coward. And the captain will set me on fire._

"Aaaaaahhh!" Shinji yelled, running inside after Matsuda.

"Aaaaaahhh!"

"Aaaaaahhh!"

"Aaaaaahhh!

"GRUUOOAAARRGGG!"

"AAAAAAH!"

"Naga, stop! Naga!"

Shinji didn't move, didn't swallow, didn't so much as breathe. The paralysis that took hold of his entire was the only thing that kept the smell of rotted fish and acid from knocking him over.

Matsuda brandished his sword. "Let him go, you monster!"

"Don't point a sword at my dog!" a woman yelled. Through blurry, tunneled vision, Shinji could make out a brown-skinned girl shouting something. He barely allowed his eyes to track her as she disarmed Matsuda and sent him tumbling to the floor.

"Shinji!" Matsuda cried. "You bitch, your monster is going to eat him!"

"M-M-Matsuda, h-h-help me!" Shinji trembled. The sword slid out of his hands and clattered on the floor. His head was swimming from the lack of air, and he slowly took a breath, careful not to actually move any part of his body. The inside of the monster's mouth was hot. A sharp tooth tickled his neck.

"What are you barging in here yelling and waving swords around for?" the brown-skinned fighter demanded.

"You're the one who snuck on our boat with that...that thing," Matsuda said. "And now it's going to eat Shinji!"

The dark girl regarded Shinji. "Just how snow-blind do you have to be to stick your head in a polar bear dog's mouth?"

Shinji spoke very carefully. "It just kind of happened." The beast growled.

"Probably because you were waving swords around and screaming." She looked down at where his sword lay on the ground. "Doesn't seem to have worked out too well. Promise to stop screaming and waving pointy things at me or my dog?"

"P-p-promise!" Shinji squeaked. The edges of his vision were turning black.

"Naga, let him go." The beast's fangs disappeared from around his head, and Shinji's legs collapsed. He set his head on the floor and breathed heavily.

"Come on, girl," the dark beast-tamer said. "Oh, whatever your names are, if I can't sleep here–and it was pretty uncomfortable—you two need to get me a room. One big enough for a polar bear dog who's still growing. Anyway, I'm going for a swim." Her footsteps echoed away and disappeared.

Shinji rolled over, still panting. He stared up at the ceiling.

"I think I just saw hell."

"Couldn't be. You're still here," Matsuda said from where he was slumped against the wall.

Shinji pinched himself. "I wasn't sure if I was going to be for much longer."

Matsuda picked up his sword and crawled to where Shinji lay. "Well, we're alive. Whoever she is, she's the captain's problem now."

Shinji breathed. Then he bolted upright. He and Matsuda looked at each other.

"The captain!"

* * *

"How old are you, Shinji?" Matsuda asked as they raced up the stairs.

"Sixteen, the minimum age," Shinji said.

"Yeah, me neither," Matsuda said. "I think next year I will be."

"Let's make it to sixteen, eh?"

"Eh."

Their feet slapped the wooden deck as they emerged up top. The captain and a dozen other sailors were all staring at something off the other side of the deck. Shinji and Matsuda dashed over and looked out. There, swimming in the middle of the ocean, was the monster and her pet. The beast darted around in the water as if it was hunting, and the brown-skinned girl gave chase, picking things out of the creature's fur.

"She's a waterbender," Matsuda said. "She really must have snuck on when we were at the South Pole."

"You two!" They jerked around at the sound of the captain's voice. He shouldered aside the other sailors as he strode toward them, grabbed Shinji roughly by the shoulder and yanked him forward.

The captain glared down at him with panicked eyes. "What the hell did you do?"

"N-nothing!" Shinji said. "She snuck on last night with that monster! We couldn't stop them!"

The captain shook him. "And what am I supposed to do with a bear on my ship?"

Shinji said the only phrase that came to mind. "Run away!"

"Good idea." The captain grabbed another sailor. "Go tell the engine room increase speed!"

But the twin terrors were already shooting through the water, holding parallel with the boat. The bender sunk deeper in the water, and then she and her pet beast flew up spinning into the air on a spout of water that crashed over the side of the boat. The girl and the monster landed on their feet, unharmed.

Muscles curved up her arms to the simple ponytail she war. Her skins was as dark as her eyes were bright blue, shining like twin stars. She stood arms akimbo, her hips cocked at a frightening angle, and she barely seemed to notice the small crowd staring at her mouths agape while her pet polar bear dog sprayed them with water as it dried itself.

Shinji fell in love.

"Oh, hey guys," she said. She cocked her head. "What, never seen a waterbender before?" She spoke oddly, her _s_ having almost a buzz to it, and there was a guttural aspect to the way she pronounced her _g._

"Get her!" the captain shouted. A dozen sailors drew their swords.

A look of pure fire came over the dark warrior's face. "I already said don't point swords at me or my dog!" She whirled her arms around, lifting all the water off the deck and swinging it across the row of swords. The water froze instantly, encasing their steel in a thick block of ice.

The sailors leaped back. "We're not match for a bender!" one cried.

"I can see that, you fools!" the captain shouted. He swung his fist around, releasing a jet of fire at the girl. She pulled it apart.

The captain blinked. "You can firebend?"

The girl dug around for something inside her ear. "Yep."

"Are...are you..."

"I'm the Avatar," she said. "And this is Naga, my polar bear dog." She rubbed the monster's head proudly. Naga panted happily. "We need a better room to sleep in, and lots of food."

"No pets allowed," the captain said numbly.

"Special Avatar exception," she said. "I'll tell the spirits to keep their ilisinek off you if you're good."

"Um," the captain said. "Spirits?"

"Yeah, and I'm on a secret Avatar mission," she held up a finger in front of her, "To bring balance. To stuff. Like this ship. It'll tip over if you're all standing on one side like this the whole time. So let's just all act normal about this and give me a room I can share with Naga. Oh, and food. Lots of food."

The captain stared at the frozen swords.

"Naga gets really _grumpy_ when she hasn't eaten breakfast, and the steam engine on this ship chases all the fish away," the Avatar said. "She hasn't had breakfast."

The captain smiled from ear to ear. "I'll see to it your arrangements are met, Avatar. "Shinji, Matsuda, find the Avatar and her pet a room and food!"

"But there's no spare rooms," Shinji said.

The captain leaned forward until his beard was tickling Shinji's ear. "Then you'll just have to give her yours."

* * *

Shinji and Matsuda lay together on a pile of broken boxes in the storage room.

"What a day," Matsuda said.

Shinji smiled weakly. "Never been almost eaten before."

"Thought you were going to end up bear food, buddy." Matsuda laughed, and so did Shinji.

"That girl is totally crazy," Matsuda said. "It's going to be hell with her and her 'dog' around."

Shinji gripped his sheathed sword tightly. He thought of a dark-skinned warrior who defeated an entire ship in seconds.

_A ship that I swore to protect._

Everyone takes that oath, it's just something you have to say to get on board.

_Still. She could have kept her oath._

Tears threatened to form in the corners of Shinji's eyes.

_Today, I was pathetic._

"Let's get some sleep, buddy," Matsuda yawned. "Night."

Shinji lay awake in the darkness. He wondered what the Avatar would dream of. He wondered if there was anything the Avatar wished she could do.

_No_, Shinji decided. _A girl with a monster for a pet can probably do anything._

He shut his eyes and went to sleep.

* * *

"Hey!"

"Agh!"

Shinji slipped in the soapy water that covered the floor, dropping his mop and falling into the suds. He stared up into a demonic wooden face.

"Pretty good, right?" the Avatar's voice said. She lifted the mask up. "I was bored, so I made it out of some of the broken wood in the storage room." She peered down at him. "Your clothes are getting wet."

* * *

Shinji sat squashed against Matsuda and the door as they and half a dozen other sailors listened to the radio in a cramped room. The captain was finally asleep after showing the Avatar around all day, and they could catch a match, maybe two, without getting into trouble.

"THE SECOND ROUND OF THE PRELIMINARIES OF THE PRO BENDING CHAMPIONSHIP ARE ABOUT TO BEGIN. FOLKS, I HOPE YOU'RE LISTENING AT HOME BECAUSE THIS ONE IS GOING TO BE A DOOZY! FIRST UP IN THE BLUE CORNER WE HAVE—"

"Hey guys!"

"Aaaah!" Shinji screamed quietly, rubbing his elbow where the door had banged it.

The Avatar poked her head inside. "I was wondering where everyone was this late. She stared at the radio. "What's that?"

"Noth—"

"PRO BENDING: THE PAIN! IS ABOUT TO BEGIN WITH MUSEI TOKUGAWA AS YOUR ANNOUNCER. DO NOT CHANGE FREQUENCIES, FOLKS, BECAUSE THIS IS GOING TO BE A MATCH TO REMEMBER!"

The Avatar's eyes were as wide as saucers. "Is that...pro bending?"

"No," someone said.

The Avatar squeezed inside, settling next to Shinji. "Tight fit, huh? So what's going on? Someone explain the rules! Which teams are playing?"

The sailors glanced at each other, and then as if by silent agreement all looked at Shinji.

_Bastards_. Shinji swallowed. "Yes, it's pro bending. Um." He wasn't sure if they wanted him to get rid of her or just make her happy.

The Avatar looked around. "Is there any food? Oh well. So who's this Musei whatever guy?" She punched him on the leg. He winced. "Hurry up and explain before the match starts!"

_At least she doesn't have her monster with her_, Shinji told himself. _She can't be scarier than a polar bear dog._

But she was, Shinji realized. She really was.

* * *

"Cool sword."

Shinji jumped, hastily shoved his sword inside the leather scabbard. "Stop doing that!"

The Avatar leered at him. "What, scared?"

"Yes!" Shinji said. "Very!"

"Looks pretty sharp." She walked forward. Shinji stumbled backwards. "I've never seen you guys training with it."

"We're not supposed to draw it except in emergencies," Shinji said. His back bumped against the wall. "We don't ever practice."

"You can't hunt if you're afraid of your own spear," the Avatar said. She was still moving forward. "Being stuck on this boat is making me stir crazy. I need a sparring partner."

Shinji squeezed himself against the wall. "I'm afraid I don't really know how to fight, Avatar."

The Avatar drew back. "Oh well," she said, and she turned around and walked away.

* * *

It's not like she was _stupid_, Korra thought as she squished against the wall to make room for Naga. The captain thought she was, but that was fine. He was stupid, and it kept him happy to think of her as an greedy ilisinkot, dangerous if provoked but easy to soothe with small offerings.

But the other sailors, she saw how they looked at her. And since they thought she was dumb, they thought she was deaf as well, and she heard what they said about her. And in fact she didn't understand everything they said in their thick accents, but it wasn't hard to figure out that "bug-eyed bearcat" wasn't a compliment. Still, Korra got the feeling this sort of thing fell under Do Not Freeze The Other Children In Ice Because They Made Fun of Your Ponytail, so she pretended not to hear and focused her anger on her training.

There wasn't much else to do on the ship. The captain had shown her around the engines and given her a tour of the entire ship. She had beamed and nodded and pointed at everything, and she noticed how he disdained her, how he talked down to her without ever actually speaking a word of insult. At least Arnook had been straightforward.

Then...long stretches of time that belonged to her. She filled the time the only way she knew how: by firebending and waterbending, forms and stretches, pushups, sit-ups, shadowboxing, and a dozen drills and exercises she learned in the course of her bending training. The sailors, whom she ignored, watched her surreptitiously and openly. The wooden deck of the ship was a change from the icy surface of the South Pole, and she made a game out of sidestepping heavy wooden boxes and ducking under the long white poles that crossed the ship.

Every day she bathed Naga, who seemed untroubled by the sudden change in her surroundings. She smoothed Naga's fur out slowly, and it took her awhile to realize that she was hoping one of the sailors would take an interest and talk to her. Once she understood her own motive, she knew it was ridiculous and quickly finished grooming her polar bear dog. Korra couldn't understand it, but the no one else had ever seen what she saw in Naga, a cute, faithful puppy who wouldn't harm a fly if that fly weren't trying to harm her master. Instead, they saw massive jaws and sharp teeth that could crush a human skull with ease. Somehow that made them uneasy around Naga.

She wanted to think of the sailors as ignorant, frightened of a scary-looking animal they didn't know anything about, but the truth was, Arnook and everyone back in the South Pole had been just as terrified of Naga and drove her off with spears and ice. In response, Korra leveled half the Ice Hall. Then she ran into the desert in the direction Naga had gone to find her polar bear dog.

It was easy to evade the White Lotus sentries who pursued her, but finding Naga was another matter. Korra called and called, but Naga didn't come. After hours of searching, Korra had to admit the obvious truth: she didn't know where Naga was. The South Pole was huge. And she was getting lost.

The furs Korra wore were warm, and when she grew tired she waterbended an igloo and crawled inside. Then she knew she had lost her dog, and Korra sobbed once before she remembered that she was the Avatar. Then she remembered Naga's round, sad eyes, and she couldn't hold back the tears.

She had first seen Naga on the distant shore when on top of Aang's iceberg. She finished coaxing the moon back, of course, but she remembered where the polar bear puppy had been. She remembered the little nanertak all next day during her lessons and during bending training and getting tagged out first in iceball because all of the other kids were too afraid to have fun when she was playing. When she found a moment to slip away, the nanertak was back there, and so was Korra, cooing and holding out a fish. It didn't approach her, but it didn't run away either, and when lay the fish down and stepped back, it ate it without hesitation.

Korra got a good look at it while it swallowed the fish in a single bite. It was only a little nanertak, heavier than any adult of the Water Tribe but much smaller than a full-grown polar bear dog, and when it was finished eating it stuck its head out over the water as if it was searching for something.

Where's your mommy? Korra thought. What are you doing here?

But the polar bear dog's mother never showed up, and the puppy began to whine and moan, stamping back and forth and wriggling in distress, waving its head over the water. It wasn't hard to guess what had happened. The mother had gone out to hunt and hadn't returned. A seal lion, maybe, or an orca shark had gotten her. These things happened. But the sight broke Korra's heart, and she approached the puppy slowly. Arnook would have panicked and dragged her back, but Korra knew in her heart that all dogs are good dogs.

The puppy shrank back from her, growling pitifully, but Korra bended more fish out of the water and set them down in front of the puppy, who didn't touch them at first, but eventually hunger overcame fear, and the puppy snapped them up. It was small, probably a girl, and it jumped back once it had the fish, but Korra was patient.  
"You need a name," Korra said in a cheerful singsong voice as she pulled more fish out of the water for the puppy to eat. "How about Amarok? No, that doesn't fit." She remembered a name out of spirit lore. "Naga? It's the name of a guardian spirit. Maybe it will keep you safe. It's a good name for a polar bear dog."

Naga didn't respond, but she didn't seem to mind her name either. After she had eaten she sat down a few meters from Korra and looked out over the water.

"She's not coming back," Korra said. "But I am. I'll be back everyday, okay?"

It hurt to leave, but Korra did, somehow. She apologized to Arnook for disappearing and listened to his lesson on the history of the Earth Kingdom without so much as a peep. The next day she was back at the shore at the same time, and there was Naga again. Korra called to her, bended fish out of the water for her, and the next day and the day after that. Gradually she was able to get closer to Naga, who let Korra rub her fur while she ate, and, after a few weeks, even when she wasn't eating. That was the day Korra invited Naga to follow her home, and that was the day the rest of the village drove Naga away.

Now Korra clutched herself within the igloo and tried to convince herself that she had only known Naga for a few weeks, it didn't make sense to feel this much grief. But she couldn't drive away the image of a confused and frightened polar bear puppy gazing across the water, waiting for someone to return.

Korra sat up. How could she have been so stupid?

She tore down the igloo and threw all the snow behind her as she tore over the ice to the shore where her puppy waited. And there she was, waiting, and Korra laughed and cried and clutched Naga tight. They ate fish together—Korra's cooked in boiling water and Naga's raw—and when they both began to yawn, Korra built an igloo around the two of them, Naga snuggled against her.

Panicked shouting awoke them. Naga was up and growling, and Korra tore the igloo apart. There were villagers running over, someone was shouting, "I see her, I see her!" and Korra had to bend ice around Naga's feet to hold her back.

"Korra, get away from that beast!" Arnook shouted.

"She's my friend!" Korra shouted back. "And you're scaring her!" She raised her arms, erecting a thin layer of ice between her and the villagers. "Don't come near!"

"Korra!" Arnook called, panicked and trying to sound calm, "Listen to us! Polar bear dogs are very dangerous. I need you to let it go and come back to us as fast as you can. We have spears and nets. You'll be safe."

"No!" Korra shrieked. "Don't throw any spears!"

Katara's voice cracked like a whip. "The Avatar is choosing her animal guide! Drive it away and you'll be forever hounded by a terrible ilisinek!"

"It's a polar bear dog!" Arnook cried, baffled and pleading.

Katara's voice was firm. "Nothing fits Korra better. The choice is hers and hers alone. The spirits will not be able to help you if you slay this beast."

There was much arguing after that, shouting and furious whispers and hands slapping thighs and chests, and Korra settled it all by leading Naga to the edge of the village, though Naga refused to go inside the walls. So Korra built them another igloo to sleep in and insisted on having her meals and lessons brought to her until Naga was willing to go inside the village. Even Arnook hadn't protested, just muttered something dark under his breath and shouted from twenty feet away for an entire hour on the Hundred Year War. Resting her head on Naga's thick fat, Korra watched the stars twinkle while Arnook tried to hold a lesson.

"Korra? Are you listening?" Arnook shouted.

"Nope," Korra laughed over the sound of Arnook's frustrating grumbling, and she scratched Naga's head.

There was a big difference, Korra reflected as she drew another column of water out of the sea for a final rinse of Naga's fur, between one monster alone and two together.

* * *

Police Reports: Case Files: Open Cases: Heading: Kidnapping.

Victims:

Cheng, 22. Earthbender. Student of architecture in the middle of the Exams. Reported missing after not showing up for two tests in a row.

Lan Zhao, 39. Firebender. Wife of the metallurgist Hong Zhao. Taken walking from her home to the workshop in the early hours of the morning.

Li Wang, 14. Firebender. Third daughter of the Wang family in the District of the Painted Lady. Kidnapped late at night as she walked alone to meet her friends.

Saomik, 55. Waterbender. Former Councilman, now investor and businessman. Reported missing after failing to show up to a board of directors meeting.

And on for five more names. Police Captain Saikhan had burned the details of every case into his head. They all had several elements in common.

1. All those kidnapped were members of rich, old bending families, yet there came no demand for ransom. It was the absence of ransoms that had allowed Saikhan to link the kidnappings together, to trace them out on a map of the city and suggest a single conspiracy behind them all.

2. Every kidnapping had occurred at night or in the early morning when the victims were outside and alone. This suggested that the conspiracy lacked the resources to successfully kidnap a protected mark. But according to the detectives' reports, none of the victims were known to be regularly outside and alone at dark. This suggested that the conspiracy _did_ have the resources to monitor their marks constantly, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

3. Every kidnapped victim was a bender.

When he spoke to Chief Beifong, she demurred.

"Captain, I know we're under pressure to arrest Equalists, but this isn't a case. Look at the map you drew, for earth's sake, there's no pattern there."

"Exactly," Saikhan said. "There's no pattern, no organization. Yet the kidnappings are clearly targeting wealthy benders of ancient families. The kidnappers don't have the resources to break into a guarded house, yet they can be watching constantly all around the city for any opportunity and strike quickly. That means Equalists. Large numbers, no money, known vendetta against wealthy benders. They're the only group that fits."

"But they're not a group."

"We should check their pamphlets. All the materials they distribute to their members. There could be clues. Maybe in code."

"Our police station already subscribes to all their material. They don't seem to mind dropping it off, either."

"But—"

"The point is, Captain, all these kidnappings were pulled off without a hitch. Add that to your list of commonalities. Pamphlets do not turn citizens into trained criminals."

Saikhan grunted. Chief Beifong continued. "There's the problem of the underworld, you know. The bike gangs and the triads."

"You think there are unreported kidnappings."

"I think it's possible. If there are, that could be the clue we need to bust these cases open. Maybe the map would reveal a pattern, or we'd learn what the kidnappers are really after."

"Maybe."

"Perhaps there's even a connection between your kidnappings and my murders. See to it. Tell the detectives there's no point bothering about in the rich neighborhoods for another week. Let's look where we haven't already."

Saikhan stepped outside, still adjusting the shining silver captain's insignia on his left breast. The detectives would be changing shifts soon, and if he wanted to catch them he would have to hurry. There were runners for this sort of thing, but Saikhan wanted to walk, to clear his head and think.

He set off in the direction of Sato Street. Out of the corner of his eye, a man who he hadn't noticed sitting across the street, stood. Then he was running very fast across toward Saikhan, his hand darting about inside his shirt, and as Saikhan turned, lifted his metal-covered arm, the man was there. Saikhan didn't even see the knife that tore across the top of his neck, ripping out a chunk of flesh that hung loosely by a thin line of skin. Blood spurted out onto Saikhan's dark grey armor. A killer was nowhere to be seen, and the afternoon's hastily printed newspaper declared Captain Saikhan killed on the street by a ghost.

* * *

The Avatar couldn't wait for the ship to dock. She took her dog up to the bow as soon as the smog surrounding Republic City came into view. Without saying a word of goodbye, she summoned a column of water to take them down into the bay.

Shinji stretched out his hand, summoned the courage to shout something….

…And it died in his throat. The Avatar and her pet monster disappeared overboard.


	3. Welcome to Republic City

To Professor Shengtai, who had spent twenty years exploring the swamps and forests of the Earth Kingdom, Republic City reminded her of the wild and colorful ecosystems she had spent her life studying.

But, as I reminded her, Republic City is an atypical ecosystem. It draws energy from the sun, like all living things, but not with photosynthesis. The sunlight is captured with engines, light bulbs, machinery and specialized parts, textiles, and steel. These are the fruit of Republic City, born in the soil of competition and the nitrogen of agglomeration, grown with yesterday's sunlight and paid for by tomorrow's, to be traded today for cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplant, squash, melon, berries of all sorts, huge assortments of beans, cabbages, leaves, herbs, and spices, a multitude of different grains, seaweed, potatoes, celery, carrots, gourds, radishes, and peppers, even chickens, cows, pigs and goats, themselves fatted on the same sunlight brought on wooden and steel ships or pulled on carts by great, dumb beasts. No food is grown on the streets of Republic City.

She might wonder how such an indirect and circular method of acquiring sunlight can be efficient. Yet, remarkably, Republic City is a thriving habitat for humanity. Our numbers swell and grow every year. People from all the surrounding ecosystems migrate to Republic City, so well suited is it to their tastes.  
Inevitably, biotic and abiotic materials fall out of the primary production process. Things build up in places they shouldn't and gaps appear elsewhere. Sometimes, individual pieces find themselves completely cut off from primary production, and their connection to the food web becomes tenuous. Intra- and inter-habitat relocations happen swiftly and often. Unlike a natural ecosystem, however, there is no cycle, not in the strict sense. Nothing every returns to its beginning. Republic City does not always go forward, but it never goes _back_.

Life begins through a burst of lightning or the eruption of a volcano, complicated undersea chemical reactions involving undersea vents, pyrite and sulfur, information storage and transfer systems develop in primordial soups and enzymes catalyze protein production. From there it's all a matter of a cruel, merciless environment, automatic selection effects and adaptive responses.

But now we must break entirely with the good professor's experiences. For life on Republic City began with an idea, an idea conceived by a species particularly, in fact uniquely and unprecedentedly, good at coming up with ideas, ideas that break the boundaries of the environment they evolved in and the criteria they evolved to meet. A city by the bay leading out to the sea, where trade erodes history as surely as the sea's waves erode proud structures made of sand built in the aftermath of a war that left the world desolate and blackened, a new, empty place where there was no prescribed way of doing or what of wanting or who of being, and so these idea-making creatures had no choice but to put their oddest organ, a few pinkish-beige pounds of lumpy matter, to work coming up with those odd ideas of who to be and what to want and how to get it. And so anyone with an idea came to Republic City, and it turns out that ideas catalyze other ideas, and ideas benefit from being around each other, they grow, strengthen, and promote the production of even more and more ideas until Republic City was a city built on ideas, the city which had all the ideas and attracted all ideas to it, and there was no stopping it, the ideas kept coming and coming and making even more ideas happen faster and faster...

…Or not, as it happened. Ideas took the place of genes, in the ecosystem labeled "Republic City—A," and just like genes not all ideas survive by being most optimized for the environment. Some ideas survive by taking aim at other ideas and the processes that created them. And those targeted ideas developed self-defense mechanisms, and the battle continued for a while, and then other ideas developed the ability to mimic self-defense mechanisms while really going on the offense against other ideas and the enzymes that catalyze ideas, and the information storage systems that produce the enzymes and put the ideas to work...

The citizens of Republic City like to speak of harmony. This is no surprise. Our existence is predicated on the precarious balance between a number of forces both invisible and uncountably large that produce so many interactions both undetectable and incomprehensible that it's a wonder anyone can stand the tension. In fact, they wouldn't be able to bear it if they were aware of the sheer brazen impossibility of it all. But somehow, incredibly, the system is robust….

—Unalaq, The City and Its Laws, pp. ix-xii pub. 165 ASC.

* * *

"Wow, that smells amazing, can I have one?"

"Half-_jiang_!"

"Uh..." Korra sagged. "Can I bring you the _jiangs_ later?"

"No money? Then what good are you to me!"

"I'm the Avatar," Korra tried.

"Yeah? Go ask the spirits for some money and come back when they answer."

Korra turned away, shoulders bowed. No one had been willing to give her any food, not even enough for her, let alone a very hungry polar bear dog staying out of sight in the bay. She must be doing something wrong, violating some custom, like a rude stranger from a foreign village. Where were the glancing eyes, the carefully emphasized words, and, if necessary, the whispering, tugging children to hint at how she should behave? But she saw another shop displaying some kind of mysterious horn, and she forgot all fear of rudeness.

"What's that?"

The shopkeeper looked at her without actually turning his face. "It's a phonograph."

"What's it do?"

"It costs people money. Do you have any money?"

Korra lifted a shoulder. "Not...exactly."

"Then I'm afraid it won't work for you. Get out!"

Money again! Where did it come from? Did you buy it, like apparently everything else in this city? But wait, that didn't make sense...

"Tenth-_jiang_, just one tenth-_jiang_, if you wouldn't be so kind! You wouldn't? I knew it! Ha! Ha ha ha!"

Korra looked up at the sound of the raucous, high-pitched laughter. By the corner of the street sat a man in front of a beaten, tattered hat. Someone dropped a coin into it as they walked along.

"Just a tenth-_jiang_, one tenth-_jiang_, and your chi will double! Guaranteed or your money back! Ha! Ha ha ha!" He smiled at a passerby who dropped a coin in his hat, revealing a mostly toothless mouth except for a few blackened molars holding loosely to his gums. "Thank you kindly, milady, and may the spirits bless your household! Why hello there little lady, got a tenth-_jiang_ for me? No? Then how about two? Ha! Ha ha ha!"

"You and me both, buddy," Korra said. "Mind if I sit?" He gestured that he did not mind at all, so she squatted down next to him. His face was wrinkled and grey, with sunken cheeks, and his smile stretched and moved around his face like an uncomfortable cat. His coat was too large, his pants were too short, and both were frayed and thin.

"Money problems, little girl?" He jiggled his hat, which made a small clinking noise. "Quit being lazy and get a job! Ha! Ha ha ha!"

Korra grinned. The man's energy was infectious, and it sustained her even on an empty stomach, which, much to the frustration of her bending masters, she had always declared an insurmountable obstacle to training.

"So is this how you get those, what do you call them, _jiangs_?" Korra asked. "Can I try?"

"Sure, little girl. But get your own hat."

"I don't mind sharing."

"Not that, because I've got lice! Ha! Ha ha ha!" Each laugh stabbed through the air like a high-pitched squawk.

Korra laughed too and took off her heavy right boot. "Lice keep your blood fresh. I'll use my boot then. I guess I really don't need these any more. It's so warm that I can probably go barefoot here."

He eyed her heavy blue clothes. "Aye, looks like you come from somewhere cold. Let me guess...Fire Nation? No, Air Nomad!"

"Water Tribe, actually. Southern Water Tribe." She held up a fist. "Winner of the Inter-Tribal Waterbending Competition three years running!" Korra hadn't been allowed to participate, being the Avatar, but that hadn't stopped her from watching and cheering every year more loudly than anyone else.

He grinned. "Well, give it a go then. Make some money!"

Korra thrust out her boot as a man walked by. "Excuse me, can I have some money? I need—" she stopped as he sped up and walked past without even glancing in her direction.

"What was that?" she demanded. "He didn't even look at me!"

"You're doing it wrong," he said. "Watch me and learn."

A woman strolled by and as she did he called out, "Veteran of the Hundred Year's War, lost all my limbs!" He held up his arms. "Found new ones though! Ha! Ha ha ha!" She dropped a coin in his hat and hurried away.

Korra gazed at him in awe. "How did you do that?"

He tapped his nose. "That guy earlier didn't even look at you, right? That's because to him you don't exist. So you got to convince him that you don't, if you want him to give you any money. Don't go into his life; remind him that you're outside of it! That's how it works!" Korra looked down briefly, then stiffened her back and waited resolutely.

When the next person walked by, Korra shouted, "I'm the Avatar, the Avatar I am, and I'm hungry! Give me a—thank you, my good sir, and I will intercede with the spirits on your behalf!" Arnook had told her she would be asked to do that as the Avatar. She doubted he had foreseen how she would put it to use.

"Well done, well done!" the beggar said. He glanced back and forth and leaned in conspiratorially. "Listen, I think that makes you unofficially inducted into the Guild of Beggars."

"What's the Guild of Beggars?"

"I can't say too much about it," he whispered. "But we're a very exclusive organization. You should come to one of our meetings to be officially inducted and learn the Rites. You could even meet the Queen!"

"Beggars have a queen?"

"No, of course not! We just found her lying around! Ha! Ha ha ha!"

Korra wasn't sure what that meant, but she laughed anyway. "Well, if you're serious, that could be a lot of fun." She stuck out a hand. "I'm the Avatar, by the way. My name is Korra."

He took her hand in a loose grip. "I'm Norton! Although they call me 'Chicken.' It's because I can't fly. Ha! Ha ha ha!" He grimaced. "When was the last time you washed your hands?"

* * *

The sun rose high in the sky. People thronged the streets in search of lunch while Korra and her new friend cheerfully continued making money by the side of the road.

"So what's all this money for, anyway?" Korra said, holding up one of the dark magenta rectangular papers. "These _jiangs_, right? Arnook said it's just for getting stuff that's really far away."

"Oh, it is," Norton said. "Here in the city, even the person right next to you can be really far away. Ha! Ha—"

Korra playfully slapped a hand over his mouth and put the money back in her boot. "I think I see what you mean. Well, I feel pretty close to you, Norton, but I don't get this at all. What are we supposed to do with the money?"

"Buy stuff," Norton said.

"Yeah, but—" Korra searched for the words to explain what seemed too obvious to need explaining. "If I'm hungry, and that lady had plenty of fish, why not give me some?"

"Because someone else will give her money for it," Norton said. He lifted his head as a man walked by. "Got any spare jiangs for the Avatar? Thank you kindly, good sir."  
Korra hesitated. "But what does she need money for?"

"Buy stuff," Norton said.

"But why won't other people just give her something if she needs it?"

"Because someone else will give them money for it."

"That makes no sense."

"Welcome to Republic City."

* * *

Night. Past night. Morning? Councilman Tenzin was up, talking to some White Lotus sentries. A letter had come from the leader of the White Lotus, and then a runner with a message. Jie Ming was outside as well, still healing the garden after Meelo's tantrum earlier. Even a bender like Tenzin had his hands full with three young children who could run as fast as the wind.

"You've got to be kidding me!" she heard the usually serene Tenzin shout. "That—she was—argh! And with—of all people—"

Jie Ming looked up, startled. Usually nothing could upset Tenzin's equanimity. What on earth...?

Now he walked over to her, his cloak billowing far more than the wind should have allowed for. "Jie Ming," his voice was tense but controlled, "I have to step out for a bit. I'll be returning later tonight. Please keep an eye on the children and help Pema with whatever she needs."

Jie Ming had already stayed far later than usual. " Councilman Tenzin, my brothers…."

Tenzin winced and rubbed his forehead. "I know, I know, but I can't let this wait and Meelo's been an absolute terror today, and now Ikki has decided that she's sick, although with what exactly except a bad case of the grumpies I do not know..."

Jie Ming hesitated, and Tenzin held up his hand. "You can leave early in the morning and not come back until later in the day, or, if you prefer, you can meet me on the ferry coming back, and you still don't have to come in until later."

_No, it's fine, it's not like my brothers ever get sick, and when they do it's not like they have an international organization dedicated to keeping them healthy._

But no, she was part of the Equalists now. Someone would notice she wasn't back, would check on her brothers, would make sure everything was fine. She could wait. Still, it infuriated her that Tenzin just assumed that her life was far away and unimportant, that of course she had the time to spare, that rearranging her schedule around his was easy.

"Not a problem, Councilman Tenzin," she said brightly. "Good luck with whatever it is."

He sighed. "Thank you. Make yourself some tea, there's fresh ginseng. I'll be back before long."

_Oh, that makes it OK. Good luck._

And perversely, she did find herself wishing him good luck even as her resentment stewed. Something had upset Tenzin, and it was still her responsibility as an Air Acolyte to make sure that nothing disturbed Tenzin or his family.

Tenzin usually took the winding stairs down to the ferry. Jie Ming's breath caught as he leaped off the side of the cliff.

* * *

Past midnight. Lin Beifong swept a stack of papers aside to make room for the new ones. More and more crime in this city, more complicated crime, which meant more paperwork for her. What she wouldn't give for a simple, bloody murder in front of thirty witnesses on a busy street. And finally she had gotten that, and no one could remember the attacker's face or what direction he had run in.

All these accusations about corrupt business practices made her head hurt. The Equalists and their nonsense only added to the trouble. They kept getting arrested not for actual crimes, such as murder in front of thirty witnesses on a busy street, but more like almost-crimes, actions that seem like they ought to be and probably were somewhere against the law, actions that definitely were wrong, damaged public morale and promoted unrest and disrespect for the laws and most certainly would lead to actual crimes later, maybe, but, the point is, right now, were not actually illegal, as such. And so the arresting officer, instead of doing the paperwork him- or herself, would send it up to Chief Beifong.

The paperwork had more than doubled lately. Saikhan must have been taking care of most of it.

Lin closed her eyes and tapped a pen against the table just for the vibration.

She opened her eyes. The papers still sat on her desk. Briefly, before she arrested the thought and locked it up in the bottommost cell of a maximum-security prison, she wondered if—

_"So take the job...if you want it! If you'd rather be a _paper_bender than a metalbender!"_

Lin shut her eyes. She tapped the pen against the table, a syncopated rhythm like the jazz music she wouldn't be caught dead ever listening to. Mother had been selfish. Without Lin, the city would have crumbled under the weight of its own corruption and ineptitude, the crime it bred and the apathy that acted as fertilizer for it all.

A knock at the door. "Yes?"

Some flunky—Lin couldn't remember all their names these days, like she had been able to when the force had been so much smaller and the crimes so much simpler—poked his head in. He looked as nervous as his knock had sounded. "Uh, Chief Beifong? We, uh, arrested the source of the disturbance at Shamlegger Street."

_Why do you need to tell me?_ "And who were they?"

"Well, we arrested three low-ranking members of the Triple Threat Triad at the scene," he said. He swallowed. "And, uh, we arrested the Avatar."

She could hear the honesty in his voice. "How do you know it's the Avatar?"

"Well, she says she is—she's been quite irate about the whole thing, really—and, uh, she can bend three elements."

His heart was beating quickly but regularly. He was telling the truth. "Where is she now?"

"She's by the holding cells."

Lin raised an eyebrow. "Is she _in_ the holding cells or _by_ the holding cells?"

"B-by the holding cells."

"And why is she not _in_ a holding cell?" Lin put a note of exasperation into her voice.

The flunky didn't meet her eyes. "Well, seeing as she's the Avatar, we thought—"

"What do regulations say?" Lin cut through his trembling excuses.

"All detainees are to be put in a holding cell prior to questioning, Chief Beifong!" the flunky shouted, glad to be back on firm ground even if it meant being chewed out.

"Does it have any special clause for Avatars, flu—officer?"

"No, Chief Beifong!"

"So go put the Avatar in a holding cell."

"Yes, Chief Beifong!"

"And then bring her to me. For questioning."

* * *

Korra couldn't quite remember how it had happened. One of Norton's friends had shown up, and then another, and they had multiplied again. Time had been such a blur as she met all these funny, friendly people, like Dodo, whose memory disappeared as fast as it formed, or Penguin, who dressed impeccably and was entirely normal except for being convinced there was a penguin on the head of everyone he met but himself. It was sad and fun. Korra fashioned chairs out of the stone ground and lit a fire to cook what food had been procured as the evening approached and it began to get cool. They laughed, clapped, and proposed a toast to the Avatar.

The _drinks_—at some point their money, such as it was, had been pooled. Someone fetched drinks, and Korra had tried something and spluttered and gasped at the bitterness and the painful burning sensation as the liquid slid down her throat and then she had tried again and it went down a little easier, and a third time—

They laughed, they danced around the fire. She told them about the South Pole, spirit lore, and her training, and they told her about the things they saw and the adventures they got in to living in the slums and alleys of Republic City, although she noticed that all of them strayed away from the subject of how they became beggars in the first place. Korra showed them that she could balance on one hand, or tried. It was a lot harder keeping steady after some of whatever that drink was, but they clapped and rowdily shouted for her to try again. But too soon their counting diverged and wandered onto several different tracks, and Korra collapsed, giggling and feeling terrible about it, but the beggars didn't seem to mind.

Passersby didn't notice them. Norton was right; nobody could see through their spell except the children, and Korra bended multiple elements more and more brazenly as the evening went on.

"To Korra!" Norton said, lifting a bottle filled with a murky brownish orange liquid. "The new Unofficial Probationary Junior Beggar Under Consideration!"

"To Korra!" they cheered, and Korra lifted a bottle and clinked it with the rest and then she dropped it when a knife pierced her ribs. The bottle shattered on the stone ground, scattering glass shards about. Drink spilled out like blood.

Korra gasped, clutched her side. She looked down. No blood, no knife.

"Korra, are you okay?" Norton grabbed her arm. "You look like you've seen a ghost. Wait, you're the Avatar, you probably have! Ha! Ha ha ha!"

"I—I thought I had been stabbed!" Korra said. "I felt a knife go through me."

"You feel knives that aren't there, yet you don't see the penguin sitting on top of your head," Penguin said, sipping elegantly from a bottle that had been broken to resemble a glass. "Really, you people suffer from the strangest delusions."

"What do you mean, you people?" Dodo challenged.

"I mean you and your fellow beggars, my good man."

"Ah, right, I had forgotten."

"No." Korra shook her head. "I felt that. I—" and she followed the sense of danger that pointed as surely as any compass right toward—

—A bald man, sitting erect on a mat across the street, an empty hat laid out before him like the one Norton had. His face was lined and tanned with time and sun, shaved and wrinkled. He sat very still, yet his face was slack, and his eyes looked unfocused and slide about aimlessly—

He was staring at her.

"Who—who is that?" Korra gasped, pointing.

"That is Human Killer, my dear," Penguin said. "He is a most esteemed gentleman except for the penguin which sits on his head entirely unnoticed by the poor man, the source of much laughter and gossip."

"He's the one who stabbed me!" Korra hissed. Fear clutched her and she didn't know what to do with it; she couldn't run away or he'd kill the others—did no one else feel it? No, they did, she hadn't noticed it before but there was a radius around Human Killer that nobody penetrated—

"Who, Human Killer?" Nortan said, bemused. "Nah, Human Killer wouldn't hurt a fly. Maybe a police officer. Ha! Ha ha ha!"

"Then why is he called Human Killer?" Korra snapped.

"I don't remember," Dodo said.

Korra watched apprehensively as Human Killer's eyes slid about, no longer focused on her. "What is he looking a—mmph!" Norton had slapped his hand over her mouth. He shook his head.

"It's best not to ask that question, my good woman," Penguin said.

Korra pushed Norton's hand away and breathed the relatively clean air deeply. "Why not?"

"I don't remember," Dodo said.

Korra sat down heavily. Norton sat down next to her.

"Are you OK?" he said seriously. "You drank a lot."

"I'm fine," Korra said. "I'm fine," she said again, and this time her voice didn't shake. "I just—I need—Naga! I forgot Naga!"

Korra jumped up. "I'm sorry, it was really nice meeting you. I forgot my polar bear dog! She's going to be really hungry!" Korra began to run off, stopped, turned around. "Keep my boots; maybe they'll bring you guys good luck! See you at the next meeting! And thanks for everything!" She turned again and disappeared.

The beggars looked at each other.

"Gentlemen," Penguin said, "I do believe she is utterly insane."

* * *

Korra ran down the rocks towards the beach. A non-bender in the dark would have broken their neck but Korra, earthbending master, could run at full speed with her feet mapping the road ahead. She put two fingers in her mouth and whistled twice, two high-pitched blasts in short succession. She continued to run and in a short time she heard a loud pounding coming from below. She whistled again. The pounding sped up and turned into a white bullet that crashed into her before she had time to so much as shout. Korra fell backwards onto the rock, made soft by earthbending, and a familiar wet tongue bathed her face.

"Naga!" Korra cried happily. "I'm so sorry I forgot you! I'm happy to see you too!" Naga ignored her and continued to lap at her face.

"How was the beach?" Korra said, rubbing at Naga's neck and chest. "Did—oh, wow, you smell. I was going to ask if you ate, but the answer is yes. You ate fish. Lots and lots of fish. Did you catch them all by yourself?" Naga snorted and licked her again. Korra looked up at her polar bear dog in the last of the day's dying light and hugged her fur.

"I really missed you." For Naga, it seemed, the feeling was mutual.

Finally Korra was able to push her off and get up. "Okay, it's late. We should find a place to stay and go see Tenzin tomorrow. Come on, girl."

The Avatar and her polar bear dog plodded along the streets. Korra's stomach rumbled. Only then did she realize how thirsty she was. Only then did she realize that she wasn't surrounded by ice to bend into water.

"Ugh," she groaned. "I didn't eat much today. No strength. Let's just find a place to stay. You'll have to sneak around back, girl."

Naga whined and slunk off. Korra walked up to a house and knocked on the door. No answer. She knocked again. The door opened a crack.

"What do you want?" a voice said.

"Uh—" Korra started, thrown off by the barely-open door. "I'm the Avatar and I just got here and—"

Wham! the door slammed shut. "Go away!" the voice said. Something behind the door clicked.

"Well, I didn't want to stay here anyway!" Korra shouted at the door. "Jerk! Come on Naga, let's go."

Several rows of houses later, Korra turned to Naga and shrugged. "Sorry, girl, it's a city of jerks. Let's find a place and I'll earthbend us a hut. It'll be like earthbending training all over again."

They walked along to the edge of the street and past several shops. Korra was lost until she recognized the corner she had found Norton on. There was no sign of their meeting except for a few shards of broken glass.

Up ahead a light from a flame flared. Korra perked up.

"What was that? Come on!"

Korra and Naga ran forward and pressed themselves against the wall of a shop as the scene came into view. A man lay bowed in front of a store while three other men menaced him.

"You didn't pay up," one of them said. His head looked too big until Korra realized he was wearing a hat. He slashed with his hand. A wave of fire pasted right in front of the cringing man's face, who flinched and fell back.

"Da boss ain't too happy about that," said another whose shoulders were wide and came down at a right angle. The ground cracked underneath his feet.

"And when the boss ain't happy, he likes to spread it around a little," said the third. He spat. The water flew like an arrow, knocking away a rock by the fallen man's head.

"P-please!" the man begged. "Take one of my phonographs! They're worth a lot—"

"Enough," the first one, the firebender, said. "You non-benders are great at earning money, more than you should if you ask me. Ain't right, taking from your fellow man like that."

"Yeah," said the earthbender. "So we're going to _flatten_ things out a little."

"Yeah," said the waterbender. "We're going to _wet_, uh, your pants—"

"Okay, boys, I think that's enough," Korra said, stepping out from the shadows.

They looked at her. "Who're you?" the firebender asked.

"I'm the Avatar," Korra said.

"Sure, and I'm the Fire Lord," the waterbender said. "Now why don't you get lost before you get hurt, missy."

"Yeah," the earthbender said. "Or else you'll get _flattened_."

Korra squared her shoulders and put her hands on her hips. "Uh, you already used that one, big guy. Got anything better?"

The earthbender paused. "Uh...rocks." He glanced away, thinking. "I'm...rocks. You's about to get _rocks_."

Korra whistled. "Very scary. Anyone else?"

"Okay, time for you to go," the firebender said, and he took a step toward her. Naga growled. He stopped.

"Dat's a bear," he said. "A polar dog bear."

"She's a puppy," Korra said. "But yes, also a bear. I'm the Avatar and I have a pet bear. You gotta deal with it."

"Hey," the firebender said. "She's got a bear."

"You scared of a bear?" the earthbender said to the waterbender.

"I ain't scared of nothing," the waterbender said. "Let's water this b—"

"_Ice_ her," Korra said. "Threaten to _ice_ me, for crying out loud."

The waterbender growled. "I've had enough of dis." He reached inside his jacked and pulled out a container of water. Korra smirked, shifted her weight, and even as he sent a jet of water at her she was already pulling it around herself and stepped forward to fire it back.

The ground cracked in front of her, drawing a line from the earthbender to her. He was try to stop her feet, which would work great on a waterbender, but she was the Avatar and would just bend out of it—

Her foot was stuck. She tried to pull her leg out of the ground and it was stuck. She stared down, not comprehending. A light flared in the corner of her eye. She looked up to see the firebender's grinning face illuminated by the fireball as he struck.

She pulled the water up, but the fire smashed through it, burning her arms. She cried out and leaned back with the impact, but her feet were still stuck. Another fireball came. The heat and power crushed her guard, and only her trained tolerance for pain let her keep her arms up to block a third. Naga, snarling, leaped forward. The earthbender made a pulling-back motion with his hands and a sheet of rock came up and pushed Naga up and farther than she had intended. She landed hard on the ground with a crunch and a whimper.

"Don't TOUCH my dog!" Korra roared. She pulled together what remained of the water and moved to shoot it at the earthbender, but the waterbender reached forward, tugged and _pulled the water out of her hands_. Her feet were still stuck and couldn't even let out a fireball because the firebender began another volley, and out of the corner of her eye she saw the waterbender and the earthbender build _a ball of water filled with earth_. They spun and punched together. It blasting through what remained of her guard, blowing her out of the rocky hold and backwards. She landed on her back and didn't move.

"Now dat's why you don't mess with the Triple Threat Triad," the firebender said.

"Some Avatar," the waterbender snorted. "Just a waterbending punk from the South Pole. 'ow nostalgic."

The earthbender walked towards her. "Maybe she's got some money. Dat'd be ni—argh!" Korra swept his feet and kicked a fireball into his face as he came down. She jumped over him and ran towards the two remaining gangsters, her face dark and furious.

"Sh-she is the Avatar!" the waterbender cried.

"So what!" the firebender shouted. "Just get—oof!" Korra slid her hands along the ground, pulling up the street and throwing it forward. His fireballs fizzled against the oncoming sheet of rock. Korra rolled him up and away.

"W-wait a second!" the waterbender begged the advancing Avatar. "Please—" he lashed out with a whip of water. Korra rolled under it and kicked up the rock underneath his feet, knocking him into the air. She grabbed his leg with his own whip of water and spun him around, once, twice, and hurled him through the window of a shop.

The ground trembled. Korra turned and dodged the wave of earth the earth-bender had thrown at her from behind her back. Before she could step forward Naga crashed into the earthbender from the side, knocking him. Naga landed on top, her jaws firmly placed around his head. He held very, very still, except for his legs, which shook uncontrollably.

Naga growled. His legs stopped shaking.

Korra walked over to him and put her hand on Naga. She glared down at the earthbender. "_Don't ever mess with my dog_. Do you understand?"

"Nngh, nngh!" he said.

"Good," Korra said. "Now then, we'll—argh!"

A siren sounded, and a blinding light shown down on them from high above. Korra covered her eyes and looked away.

"Attention, criminals!" a distorted voice boomed. "You are under arrest! Do not run, do not resist!"

"The police!" Korra said. "Metalbenders! Coooool."

Korra heard but didn't see mechanical cables slam into the ground. There was sound of metal sliding on metal and then Korra felt the impact of half a dozen bodies hit the earth.

"Don't move, you're all under arrest!" one said.

Korra shaded her eyes with one hand and squinted at them. "Great, guys, you're just in time. Please arrest—"

"You did this?" one metalbender said, stepping towards her.

"Yeah, I—aahhh!" Korra screamed as a metal cable wrenched her burnt, fractured arms around behind her back. "Hey, stop, they're the criminals!"

Naga roared, but a cable wrapped around each of her limbs and pulled, splaying her out on the ground.

"Hey!" Korra shouted. "Don't hurt Naga!"

"This your bear?"

"She's a _puppy_, and yes, she's mine! We stopped these three thugs from wrecking this guy's shop."

"What guy's shop?"

"That guy! He was right outside."

The metalbender barely glanced. "I don't see anybody. You're all under arrest."

"Wait, I'm the Avatar, you can't arrest me!"

"Sure you are, and I'm the Fire Lord," the metalbender said. "You have the right to remain silent. I suggest you exercise it."

* * *

"Can my arms get a healer?" Korra called from inside the holding cell. "Do you people even know what that is?"

A metalbender opened the gate to her cell. "The Chief will question you now."

"When am I going to get out of these handcuffs?" Korra demanded. "And where's Naga?"

"Your bear is fine, ma'am. Just come along now."

"She's a puppy," Korra muttered. "You people are barbarians."

* * *

"You are," Chief Beifong read off a document, "Charged with getting into a fight, recklessly damaging city property, recklessly damaging private property, smuggling an exotic animal into Republic City, illegally entering Republic City without the requisite paperwork, panhandling—"

"Paperwork?" Korra cried. "What's _paperwork_?"

"Thank you for the confession." Chief Beifong put down the document. "Let's get to the point. You're the Avatar. Why are you here?"

Korra raised an eyebrow. Chief Beifong raised her eyebrow higher. Korra cocked her head. Chief Beifong cocked her head at a sharper angle. Korra stared into her eyes. Chief Beifong had a stare like a snake on amphetamines.

"To become inducted into the Guild of Beggars—"

"OH BULL—"

The door slammed open. Chief Beifong stood and cursed when she saw the tall, proud figure, wrapped in orange and yellow robes, the only airbending master in the world, son of the Avatar Aang and the living waterbending legend Katara, walk into the room, one of her useless flunkies running behind him shouting "Chief Beifong, Chief Beifong, it's Tenzin—"

Tenzin walked into the room. "Lin," he inclined his head politely, "You look as radiant as always."

"Tenzin," Lin said evenly. She leveled a thumb at Korra. "What is this?"

"That," Tenzin breathed heavily, "Is the Avatar, and I would really appreciate it if that fact could remain in this room."

Lin waved a hand. "Trust me, the whole city will know by tomorrow. Your Avatar wrecked half of Shamlegger Street and busted up a shop. Oh, and she brought a bear in illegally. _She_ is in here illegally."

"I'm incredibly sorry, Lin," Tenzin said. "This is my fault. May I ask what you are going to do with her?"

Chief Beifong shrugged. "Fine her a hundred jiangs and ship her off to the North Pole."

"South Pole, South Pole!" Korra shouted. "And I don't have any money."

Tenzin bowed his head. "Lin, could you please release the Avatar into my custody? I will send her home myself. And I will pay for the damages. This was my responsibility."

"Tenzin," Korra began, "You don't have to—"

"Be quiet, Korra!" Tenzin snapped. He turned back to Chief Beifong, ignoring the shocked Korra. "Please, Lin? I'm begging you as a favor to me."

She glared at him. "Are you sure that would really be good for the Avatar?"

Tenzin just stood there with his head bowed.

"Oh, very well." Lin flicked her hand and Korra's handcuffs came off. "Your dog is downstairs. Please get it out of here before the smell sets in completely."

* * *

The Avatar and the last airbending master in the world walked silently together towards the ferry that would take them to Air Temple Island, a polar bear dog plodding tiredly behind.

"Tenzin, I'm really sorry," Korra said when they reached the dock. "Thanks for bailing me out back there."

"Korra, everything you have done this day was irresponsible and dangerous," Tenzin said. His words were harsh, but his voice was calm. "You are the Avatar, and when you endanger yourself, you endanger your responsibility to the world. That is why we protect you."

Korra nodded.

"Korra, I know you wanted to learn airbending, but—"

"No. That's not why I came here."

Tenzin's eyes widened. "What?"

"I mean, I thought I came here to learn airbending, but..." All the frustration and pain that had built up over the last few hours poured into Korra's voice. "I saw some things I hadn't...hadn't thought I _could_ see, and I thought maybe there was...something else..." Korra's voice trailed off.

"You couldn't recognize yourself in the future laid out for you," Tenzin supplied.

Korra shrugged. "No, I can do that just fine. I—it's just that, I made the greatest friends today, they were funny and wonderful and weird in the best possible way, and in that moment when I forgot about everyone I was supposed to be and everything I was supposed to do I felt like I was finally me."

Tenzin was silent.

"And then I had to wonder what I've been reaching for my entire life," Korra said in a tired voice. "And I think—I think it was something that doesn't exist anymore. If the world today is any different from how it is yesterday, then everything Arnook and my masters taught me is worthless. I learned that today."

Tenzin opened his mouth and hesitated.

Korra sagged. "So—so I came here to become the Avatar. Because I'm the Avatar. The Avatar isn't Aang or Arnook or even you, Tenzin. It's me. And that happened for a reason. So whatever the Avatar is _becoming_...I've got to figure that out. Does that make any sense?"

Tenzin nodded.

"And I really need a healer," Korra said. "My arms are fractured and I pulled or tore something in my leg and metalbenders are not gentle. And food. And then sleep."

"There are healers on the island," Tenzin said quietly. "And cooks. And beds. Korra?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to return to the South Pole?"

"I don't want to cause you any more trouble, Tenzin."

"Do you want to return to the South Pole?"

"No."

"Very well," Tenzin said. "Then you'll have to stay with me at Air Temple Island. And I suppose you might as well learn airbending with my three children while you're there."

"Tenzin!" Korra shrieked. "Really? You mean it?"

He nodded. "If you want."

"Of course I do!" A smile spread from ear to ear on Korra's exhausted face. "I'd give you a hug but—arms. Sorry."

"Perhaps that's for the best."

Korra wiggled her shoulders. "Airbending hug."

Tenzin blanked. "What?"

Korra wiggled her shoulders again. "Airbending hug. Ha. Ha ha ha."

Tenzin flicked his hand, and a small gust of wind brushed Korra's shoulder. "Indeed."

The ferryman stared at them. "So...are you folks getting on the ferry? Only we were supposed to leave five minutes ago but you folks seemed kind of busy but I've got a home to go to too you know, so if you could hurry it up please..."

The airbending master reached down to help his pupil, Korra the Avatar, followed faithfully by Naga the polar dog bear, eternally a puppy in her master's eyes, onto the ferry that would take them to Air Temple Island.

* * *

"Tenzin?" Korra said. "I want to learn pro bending."

"YOU WHAT—"


	4. Expectations

"Wait, Tenzin, hear me out—"

"No no no no NO no no no _no_—"

* * *

Korra awoke to the sound of tapping feet and whispering voices. She began to push herself up but relented when her hands sunk into the soft mattress and the cool air blew in under the blanket. Her limbs throbbed with pain, though not as badly as last night. Where was she?

The door creaked open. Korra shot up, sending her head spinning and her vision dark. In her panic she tried to force fire through damaged arms.

"Korra!"

Korra's vision cleared in time for her to see Tenzin's three airbender children Jinora, Ikki and Meelo rush into the room. Smoke dissipated out the edges of the blanket.

"When did you get here? Are you staying with us?" They jumped with the impossible grace and control of airbenders onto Korra's bed and crowded around her. "Did Daddy say you could stay? When are you going to take us swimming? Can we ride on Naga?"

"Oh, morning, you three. Yeah, I'm here to stay." Korra flopped back down and closed her eyes. They shot open when Meelo, Tenzin's youngest, sat on her stomach. "Oof! Nice to see you too, Meelo."

Ikki, the middle child, leapfrogged over Meelo and landed on Korra's chest. "Take us swimming, Korra!"

Korra winced. "Sorry, my arms are kind of hurt, so..."

"Of course, Korra," said Jinora, sweet merciful Jinora, who sat on the bed and not on Korra. "Would you like to rest more?"

"Um, no, I'll get up," Korra wheezed. "Jinora, please get Meelo off of me." Meelo shot himself off with a gust of air before Jinora could touch him and landed neatly on the edge of the bed. His slow fall had an ethereal quality that clashed with the thin line of snot trailing out of his nose.

"You too, Ikki," Korra said.

Ikki glared at Korra.

Korra glared back.

"I want to go swimming," Ikki muttered, and she too jumped off of Korra.

"You guys can give me a tour of the island," Korra said, sitting up. "Naga will come too."

"Can we ride her?"

"If she wants."

"Where would you like to start, Korra?" Jinora asked.

"The kitchen," Korra said firmly. "Breakfast."

"Lunch is almost over," Jinora said.

"Lunch then."

* * *

_The night before_

"Why on earth would you want to learn pro bending?"

Korra was silent for a moment. The ferry drifted on in the darkness. Air Temple Island loomed in the background, a massive structure of rock that Aang himself had raised out of the ground. At the top a few orange lights flickered. Korra cleared her throat and began to tell Tenzin about her run-in with the Triple Threat Triad.

"I see." Tenzin tugged on his beard. "That does sound...odd. They shouldn't have stood a chance against you."

"Not just that," Korra said distantly. She had always excelled at fighting. What had happened that night had been _wrong. _Only her exhaustion enabled her to talk about it. "They used their bending together in ways I had never thought about. It never came up in my training. It was always one element at a time. They used three in harmony."

"Harmony, Korra?" Tenzin said skeptically. "They were just thugs—"

"Exactly!" Korra didn't want to say it, but she didn't see how to get around it either. "They didn't know I was the Avatar. They weren't trying to teach me. They were just trying to hurt me. I only won because I caught them by surprise."

Tenzin was silent.

"How much of my strength—" Korra stopped. "Tenzin, I've never lost a fight. But has anyone ever tried to beat me?"

"Of course! You received the best training in the world. Do you think your masters were going easy on you?"

"Not...exactly. But they weren't trying to really hurt me, either. And maybe they didn't want to make the future Avatar mad."

Again Tenzin was silent for a moment. "Korra, you have surprised me a number of times tonight." Korra didn't answer. Tenzin spoke again. "You want to learn pro bending so that people will try to hurt you?"

Korra shook her head. "So that people will try to beat me. But it's not just that. I want to learn modern styles of fighting. I want to learn how to use all the elements in harmony. That's—I know now that's one reason I came to Republic City. Everything is different here, and so is bending."  
Tenzin was silent again. The ferry had almost reached the island.

"Tenzin?" Korra said.

"I...will have to look around," Tenzin said. "There are a number of gyms in Republic City, and I don't know much about them." Korra shrugged. She didn't know what a "gym" was.

Tenzin looked out at the water. "We will have to delay your airbending training."

"What?" Korra cried. "Why?"

"I will only be able to teach you the old way of airbending because there is no new way," Tenzin said. "So first you will have to take some pro bending lessons at a gym so that you can begin your airbending training with an eye for how to integrate it into your modern bending training."

"Really?" Korra gasped. "Are you serious?"

"Unfortunately, yes. Perhaps it is your destiny to learn modern martial arts. I can pay for you to get lessons from professional benders at a gym."

"I can't believe it!" Korra shrieked. "Tenzin! Airbending hug! Airbending hug!"

* * *

Korra was outside bending stone monsters to chase the three little airbenders when Tenzin found her. He greeted her warmly, asking how her arms and legs were, whether she had eaten, if his children weren't being a bother, on and on and on, until she laughed and held up her hands and told him she was fine, she was somewhere other than the South Pole for the first time in her life and it was amazing, sunny and full of earth for her to bend and all manner of greenery she didn't recognize but was determined to learn about.

"And I can be _lazy_," Korra said. "The sun came up all on its own. I didn't have to do a thing!"

"What about shoes?" Tenzin asked, looking down at her bare feet.

Korra wiggled her toes. The feeling of soft, wet dirt underneath her soles and grass tickling her feet was a sensation that thrilled her like no other. She couldn't remember having ever taken off her boots in the South Pole, and she wasn't sure if she ever wanted to go back if it meant having to imprison her feet again.

"No thanks," Korra said.

"Korra!" Ikki waved, leaning away from one of the dirt monsters. "Chase us!"

"What about—" Tenzin began.

"Everything's great. Better than great. I just can't wait to start learning airbending."

The relief on Tenzin's face almost made her giggle, as if he had to impress her. "As for the plant life, I'm sure Master Chang can tell you everything about them. He's the expert on the traditional plant life the Air Nomads depended on and cultivated. Jinora too knows a great deal about them and the kinds of plants you get in the city as well. In fact, Air Temple Island is home to over one hundred different kinds of trees, herbs, and flowers, including—"

He was babbling again. Why was he nervous? "Tenzin, it's fine, really, I just think they're nice to look at. I'll get Jinora to show me around later."

"Korra!" Meelo whined, leaning away from one of the stone golems. Korra waved a hand distractedly, and Meelo jumped out of the way as the stone monster shot forward.

"Let me at least give you a tour of the temple and the meditation deck. Oh, and the library. We have many ancient scrolls, and not only about Air Nomad history, philosophy, life, culture, and bending, but texts about the Four Nations and Republic City as well, including subscriptions to the modern scientific journals—"

"I don't really read that much, Tenzin," Korra said weakly. "Just what Arnook would give me."

"Of course. No, I just mean that—yes. Did you eat? I know you're used to a primarily meat and fish diet, but here we're vegetarians."

"So that's what that stuff was," Korra mused. "Vegetables."

"I'm afraid I can't allow meat to be eaten on this island, but have you tried bread? Rice goes down easily. I could ask Pema to—one of the Acolytes could—"

"Tenzin!" She grabbed his shoulders. "I'm fine! Everything is great! I love it here and can't wait to begin training. It's warm. I've never felt better. This is the first time I've ever gotten a chance to play with earthbending before."

Tenzin nodded, digesting this, and then he frowned. "Forgive me, but I had a healer tend to you while you were sleeping. He is talented, but your injuries could not have healed so swiftly. You shouldn't bend too much. Rest your body."

* * *

Korra sidestepped the water-jet, whirled and kicked, sending a powerful blast of fire at the White Lotus sentry, who grunted in surprise as it collided with his chest, knocking him over.

"Wow, Korra, you rock!" Ikki clapped.

"Well done, Avatar Korra," the beaten sentry said, pulling himself up and bowing.

"Yeah, yeah." Korra dismissed him with a gesture. "Anyone else want to spar?

The watching White Lotus guards looked at each other, silently conferring, and one raised his hand.

"Okay, but you have to seriously try to beat me," Korra said.

"Yes, Avatar Korra."

"I mean it."

"Yes, Avatar Korra."

"Korra, come in for dinner! Kids, dinner!" Pema called. Korra cringed to realize how close she had been to being seen sparring. But Tenzin was no Arnook—he had forgotten to tell the guards that she wasn't to exert herself.

She flicked a finger at the White Lotus guard. "You live for another day."

The inside of the main living quarters was unlike anything Korra had seen before. The Ice Hall of the Southern Water Tribe was nothing to sneeze at, but they lacked the life and vibrancy of the healthy oak walls and bright orange colors of Air Bending Island. Paintings hung on the walls and tall green plants sat happily by windows, drinking the last of the dying sunlight.

The feast laid out on the table before them was unlike anything Korra had ever seen before. It was as colorful as the temple itself, consisting of all manner of weird pods and strange leafy things. She recognized only the rice, and she was pleased to see that fish and whale yak spit were missing.

"Great, let's eat!" Korra sat down in front of one of the bowls of rice. "Hey, who made all this stuff?"

"Jie Ming went shopping earlier, and Pema did most of the cooking," Tenzin said. "Korra, we stand before we eat."

"Uh, okay." Korra stood open, twisting her neck to look at the short, dark-haired girl in the yellow clothes of an Air Acolyte walking out with a pitcher of tea. "You went shopping?"

"Yes, Avatar Korra," Jie Ming said.

"With money and everything?"

"Yes, Avatar Korra."

"Where did you beg for it?"

Jie Ming's face was blank. "What?"

Tenzin coughed. "We sing a prayer before we eat. Korra, I know you don't know the words, but listen. Try to understand their meaning."

"Uh, sure thing," Korra stammered. The airbending family launched into some ancient hymn. It was slow and ponderous, and Korra could see that out of the children, only Jinora was taking it seriously. Tenzin's eyes were closed, and Pema's were fixed commandingly on Meelo, who was clearly struggling not to start banging his fist on the table.

Finally, the song ended and they sat down. Korra reached for a bowl of rice, but Tenzin spoke.

"Wait, Korra. First we drink tea."

Tenzin poured tea into mugs and passed them around the table. He muttered something in an ancient language, and the rest of the family responded, then lifted the mugs and drank. Korra copied them and made another grab for the rice.

"Now we wash our hands, Korra," Tenzin said, standing up.

"Why didn't we do that before?" Korra cried.

"This is how the Air Nomads have eaten for centuries, Korra," Tenzin said. "Here, I'll show you how to do it."

"There's a special way to wash your hands?"

"Of course there is," Tenzin laughed. "Did you think we just washed our hands any old way?"

"Would've eaten more at lunch if I'd known I'd have to work for this dinner," Korra muttered.

After washing their hands, which proved to be a fairly simple task after all, they finally sat down to eat. Korra grabbed a bowl of rice and a pair of chopsticks and pulled the bowl up to her face.

"Korra, don't fill up on rice," Tenzin said gently. "Take some of these beans and sprouts and put them on."

Korra nodded, piling all kinds of weird long stalks and diced pale...somethings onto her rice, unwilling to spend too much time without food in her mouth. Pema gave an odd half-smile at her husband across the table.

"Grr!" Meelo said, pulling a bowl of rice toward himself. He watched Korra with a competitive eye. "Hrrr!" Pema grabbed the bowl before Meelo could upend the whole thing.

"What kinds of things do you eat in the South Pole?" Jinora asked.

Korra inhaled. "Fish, mostly. We make stew with whale yak spit."

Ikki made a face. "I remember that stuff. Yuck!"

"Yes, it was yuck," Korra said. "Mm, but these, uh, vegetable things are good!" They were crunchy and mushy at the same time, not like meat at all. It was downright _fun_ playing with them with her teeth and tongue. She looked around suddenly. "How come we're the only ones eating?"

"The guards eat in their quarters and the servants eat at various times in theirs," Tenzin said.

Servant. Another new word.

Tenzin placed vegetables in his bowl of rice. "Now, Ikki, why don't you tell Kor—Meelo! Do not do that with the bowl! Pema, grab it from him—"

"Korra, are you going to learn airbending with us?" Jinora asked.

Korra nodded. "Yup, but first I've got to learn modern bending."

"Modern bending?" Jinora gasped. "But modern bending _eats your karma_." Korra raised an eye at Tenzin, who shot back a look of beseeching panic, and then one of pure horror at Pema, who, Korra saw, had raised an eyebrow at an angle even Chief Beifong couldn't have matched.

"Daddy?" Ikki chirped. "Can I learn pro bending too?"

"Absolutely not," Tenzin and Pema said instantly. Ikki crossed her arms and glared at her older sister, who shrugged.

"But you must be very excited to finally start your airbending training," Pema said.

"Oh, yeah," Korra said, spitting flecks of rice as she talked. "I can't wait to learn a new fighting style. Mm, Jinora, how old are you?"

"I'm ten."

"Can you beat one of the White Lotus guards yet?"

She looked shocked. "N-no, I've never even—"

"Oh, we'll fix that. An hour of sparring a day with me and you'll be tearing through them like Naga through a wounded baby caribou puffin."

Even Ikki looked horrified. Tenzin coughed. "Airbending is more of a spiritual element. We place less emphasis on combat and more on the _inner_ connection to the element."

"Oh, yeah, my firebending master tried to get me to do that," Korra said. "But it—hand me those lumpy things, will you?—didn't work out so good. But at least the food is great. Who would have thought there's things other than meat to eat?"

"What's meat?" Meelo asked, stabbing at a squishy yellow cube.

"Meat is food that comes from a dead animal," Korra said. "Like a whale yak. About once every other month someone would catch a big whale yak and drag it to shore. We'd lay it down on a table ten feet long and start hacking into it with saws. The skin peeled open with this nasty _hiss_ when all the gasses and stuff escaped. It smelled awful, but that's when we knew we were getting to the good stuff. We'd crack open the ripcage and saw off gigantic chunks of meat. Blood and guts and grease would spill and spray everywhere. Plus eventually we'd have to start climbing _inside_ the whale to get to all the meat, and—"

"Korra!" Tenzin said. He composed himself. "Perhaps we could discuss something else."

Korra noticed the ice-white faces of the airbending family. She looked away. "Uh, right. Sorry."

"I want to live in the Water Tribe and be a modern bender and eat meat all day," Ikki sighed.

Dinner ended with another prayer. As they cleared the plates, Tenzin invited Korra to the study.

"When we have time we study ancient Air Nomad scrolls," Tenzin said. "My children attend, and some of the Air Acolytes as well. I think you'll find it very interesting."

Korra didn't look at him. "Maybe not tonight, Tenzin. I'm still getting used to all this."

She exited the hall, enjoying the cool night air on her shoulders and the strange, wonderful feeling of soft grass tickling her bare feet. Now that she thought about it, most of her meals had been taken with Arnook, her bending masters, or alone with Naga. She wasn't sure how well she fit into the airbending family. Maybe she could just get food from the kitchen and eat with Naga.

She spotted the dark-haired girl from before, the one who knew how to shop and get money, heading down the steps. Korra decided to follow her. At the bottom of the cliff, Korra could barely make out Jie Ming step onto the ferry that set out across the black water for the shore of Republic City. Korra watched the ferry disappear into the night. As it went a tiredness came over her, and she realized that she was very far from home. She looked up at the sky, hoping to see the southern lights again. Instead, the sky was starless.

Korra panicked, stumbling backwards. She stared up at the night sky for what felt like forever, frozen with shock. There were no stars above Republic City, only a few small ones above the island.

_The sky works different__ly here_, Korra thought, trying to still her beating heart. _The sun and moon come and go as they please, and the stars aren't out every night. It's fine. Nothing's wrong. I'll ask Arn—Tenzin about it later_.

Finally calm, Korra's gaze stretched out across the water toward the city. The lights were on even at night. Different from stars, but brighter and closer. Were they all firebenders? Maybe in a world without stars they learned to make their own light.

She _had_ to see it up close. Korra scanned the side of the cliff for the White Lotus sentries and slipped over the side of the cliff, reaching out a hand to bend a ledge and let herself down. She pulled into the shadows against the cliff side, sneaked around and out of sight, and made her way to the dark water. She leaped in and kicked out for Republic City.

Korra pulled herself ashore and flung the water off her body with a single full body wriggle that she had learned from Naga. She hopped experimentally on the hard ground and, satisfied, jogged into the city.

The lights were on, but it wasn't firebending or anything Korra had ever seen before. They shone from the insides of tall buildings, and outside tall signs spelled out words in buzzing red and green that flashed and hurt her eyes. She bended herself up on a platform of rock to touch one. The light was hidden behind some kind of smooth clear material. She considered smashing it to reach inside, but she didn't want to have to get Tenzin to deal with Chief Beifong. She dropped down, restoring the ground to how it had mostly looked before.

Surprisingly, Korra wasn't the only one out that night. The streets were busy well after dark. Shops were open, all manner of odd instruments displayed against the windows, illuminated by the weird internal lights that passed for starlight here. City goers in uncomfortable-looking tight dark clothes walked arm in arm down the streets. They stared at her as she passed them by, whispering, taking in her sleeveless blue shirt, thick dark pants and bare feet. She stared back, fascinated by their pale skin and bizarre hats. People's bodies looked so _weird _when not covered in thick furs. Or maybe eating nothing but vegetables made them all skinny.

Korra slowly made her way through the streets, stopping to stare at every building she passed. Large...carts? that roared like the ship zoomed past her. Smaller ones with two wheels and no walls zigzagged through the traffic.

"Sorry, whoops, excuse me," Korra repeated whenever she bumped into others. Her head was on a swivel, looking everywhere but in front of her, and the stumbling pivot that slowly took her down the street made it impossible for others to avoid her path.

Swept up in the new sensations, Korra followed a group of people down one street and took a detour down a stretch of road that seemed inviting. She went this and that way until she noticed that it had gotten much darker and she didn't remember the way back to the main street.

She started at a loud roar that reminded her of the ship. Bright lights shined from behind her; she turned her head to see and had to cover her eyes as a pack of the two-wheeled ships zoomed by. Shouted words vanished in the night.

Korra watched uncomprehendingly as the lights headed into the distance and veer off suddenly. The dull throbbing roar returned, growing louder and louder. White light blinded her; she averted her eyes and stuck out a hand as the sound of the engines grew deafeningly close. The ships stopped a few feet in front of her.

Suddenly the noise faded, except for a quieter steady rumble, and after a few seconds the lights died. Korra struggled to see past the dark purple that formed in her vision.

"You lost, miss?" a deep voice said. It was only a foot or two away.

"No," Korra said.

"You look lost," the voice said. A different voice snickered.

Korra could make out half a dozen or so figures now. There was one standing in front of the others. He was tall and thin, with a long curl of dark hair falling down the side of his face.

"You look fresh off the boat," he said, a mocking undercurrent in his voice. "Maybe I could show you around, as one waterbender to another?"

"Southern or Northern Water Tribe?" Korra asked automatically.

"My parents are from the North Pole," he said. "You seem like a Northern Water Tribe girl. Why don't we talk about it somewhere with more light where I can see you better? Ever taken a ride on a Satocycle?"

The South Pole went without much light for half the year. Even if he couldn't see, she could make out his face. Korra cocked her head, tapped her foot against the ground, getting a sense of the bending material they stood upon. "Ooh, I can't. I'm from the _South_ Pole, and I wouldn't feel safe knowing I have to protect you."

Surprised laughter rippled up around the large waterbender, who snarled and took a step toward her.

"I wouldn't try that if I were you," Korra said. "See, I'm not _just_ a waterbender. I'm also the Avatar."

"Yeah, and I'm the Fire Lord," he said. "My little brother's the Avatar. So's the beggar down by the docks."

Something about his accent reminded Korra of the three thugs from the night before. A residual ache told her her arms weren't fully healed. How many of the half-dozen riders behind him were benders?

He took a step forward. She stepped back. "But if you like bending so much, I could give you some _private_ training."

She tried to keep her legs from shaking. "Polar bear dogs can't be trained, everyone knows that."

"Polar whats? What're you beating your gums about, Dora?" He took another step forward, and she attacked. Her arms still hurt, though, and the fireball fizzled weakly as he jerked out of the way. He pulled water from a container out of his jacket and knocked aside the second fireball. In the same motion, he punched.

Time slowed down as the mass of water rippled through the air. Korra's eyes tracked it automatically. Her arms drew themselves up in front of her face while Korra's back twisted and her hips rotated her torso down and away. Korra's brain remembered only the earth and water bomb that cracked bone.

The hurtling water brushed Korra's arm, half-collided with her shoulder and shot off. The impact spun Korra around; she rolled with it, kicked her legs to pull a wave of spilled and spraying water around her, placed one hand on the flat earth and used it as a fulcrum to whip herself around, sending the wave of water crashing into a shocked Joker, blowing him backwards. He landed heavily on the rock and lay there, groaning.

She stumbled back, fighting down the pain in her limbs. The rest of the riders stared at their fallen captain.

"She bended fire and water," one said. "She _is _the Avatar!"

"Finally figured that out?" she snapped. "Who's next?"

"This was all a big misunderstanding," one said. "We'll just take our friend and leave."

Korra stretched out her arms, puling up a wall of earth that cut them off from the street behind them. "No. Any more benders here?"

She saw them turning to look at two in the front, who stiffened. Korra's lips curved up.

"We don't—" one began, and Korra attacked. He parted her stream of fire, but she kicked a pillar of earth into his gut. He collapsed, groaning. The other backed away. "We're real sorry, Miss Avatar Bear, ma'am, didn't mean to cause you any trouble."

She advanced on him. His back hit the wall. He collapsed to his knees, trembling. Now there was only one thing missing.

Her attention snapped to the other riders. "Any of you benders?"

They shook their heads. She pulled the earth wall around them like a box. Then she spurted a stream of fire into the air.

It took a few more streams and about ten minutes of ignoring the intermittent pleas of the trapped riders for a pair of metalbenders to respond. They came swinging on cables that passed through the buildings and landed on either side of her.

"I caught the bad guys for you, officers," Korra said.

"It's the Avatar," one muttered.

"My reputation precedes me."

"Your dog's smell does."

Korra took that as a compliment. "This crew picked a fight with me. I ended it."

"We didn't do anything!" one of the trapped riders squeaked. "She attacked us!"

The gaze of the metalbenders stretched from the riders within the earth prison to the large waterbender still lying on the ground. "What happened to him?"

"He called me Dora. My name is Korra."

"You got to help us, please!" one of the riders begged. "We didn't do anything?"

"Who's word are you going to take, a bunch of lowlifes or the Avatar's?" Korra smirked.

"The police have a new rule effective since this morning," the metalbender said. "'No special rules for the Avatar.' You're going to let them go, and all of you are coming back with us to the station." He stamped his foot three times on the ground.

"I'm the Avatar, and you're going to listen to me," Korra said.

"We're the police, and you're under arrest."

"I feel like I've been here before." Korra cocked her hips. "Just how are you planning to arrest the Avatar?"

He answered by flinging out a metal cable from the spool on his back. She caught it but couldn't hold on when he pulled it back for another strike. It hurt too much to grip that hard, so she pulled up blocks of earth on either side of her when the next volley came. The metalbenders were moving as a unit, flanking her from the back and the front the instant she earthbended.

Teamwork meant some kind of ilisinek, Korra decided. She gripped an earth cube in each hand and rotated them to intercept the next pair of cables. Then she ran, holding the thick blocks of city street behind her like a shield. No use getting getting in trouble so Tenzin had pay for more things.

Tenzin! He had probably noticed by now that she was missing. If she got back soon, he probably wouldn't mind.

But the metalbenders weren't giving up. They took to the wires that ran along the buildings. One whipped a cable at her head that just barely missed.

Enough of that. Korra punched one of the earth cubes through the wall and followed it. She was in some kind of dusty room. Her Box of Street was at the far end on top of some crushed chairs. She grabbed it and busted through the other side of the building, emerging into the noisy street on the other side. No sight of the metalbenders behind her.

A loud, piercing siren went off and a white light shined down. Korra dashed away on instinct and tripped when something tightened around her angle. One of the metalbenders jumped down from the top of the building, his long cable stretched out around her leg. She smashed it with one of the chunks of street she was carrying. There was something satisfying about the way he suddenly flew off to the side. The cable unwrapped from around her leg and she started running again.

The cubes of earth were slowing her down. She dropped them. The white light found her again, as if whatever was flying up there could somehow hear the crack of stone from that far away. She ducked behind a wall into an alley, but now the sky was full of metalbenders swinging along the wires that stretched through the city.

Earth was no good. She needed to get to the water. How far away was it, and it what direction?

The metalbenders didn't give her much choice. The formed up along the buildings behind and to the side of her, the white light chasing her through the streets. She couldn't tell what direction she was going without the stars (how did anyone _find_ anything in this city?), but it felt like a trap. It also felt like there was something wrong with the muscles in her legs. Running didn't normally hurt this much.

The city lights tapered off along with the wires crisscrossing the city as a large black mass in the distance steadily grew larger. The bay.

New strength flowed into Korra's legs. She sped up and leaped off the edge of the shore. No metalbender could keep up with her in the water. Even the big white light seemed to have given up. She neared the shore of Air Temple Island and reached up a hand to pull herself out.

A rough hand took hers. Before Korra could so much as bend an ice-lance it hauled her out of the water. Korra spluttered and coughed into the face of Chief of Police Lin Beifong.

"I am sorely tired of you, Avatar Korra," Beifong said.

"You!" Korra prepared to make fire. "Let me go!"

"Korra!" a voice snapped. Tenzin. "You are in enough trouble as it is. Do not compound your crimes."

Korra relented, seething. "I didn't do anything wrong! People attacked me, and I defended myself."

"You resisted arrest, tore up a street, broke through a building, and possibly assaulted a group of people," Beifong said. She seemed remarkably calm. "We have the Satocycle gang in custody. They seem to think you began and swiftly won an unprovoked fight."

"Let me go!"

"Lin," Tenzin sighed.

Beifong dropped her. "There will be no third time, Avatar Korra. If you commit another crime in my city, resist or evade arrest ever again, I will personally do whatever it takes to put you behind bars, Tenzin's lawyers be damned."

Korra pulled herself up, trying not to let the pain in her limbs show. "How did you get here so fast? You couldn't have talked to those guys and made it here before..." Her voice trailed off as she noticed the soles of Beifong's feet were as bare as hers. "You guys communicate with earthbending. That stomp!"

"She knows her bending, if absolutely nothing else," Beifong said. "You owe me twice, Tenzin. Don't count on a third time."

She left.

Korra watched the ferry carry her across the water. "I don't like her."

"Anyone but you would be in jail right now," Tenzin said. "I suspect this fact does not bother you as much as it should."

"I didn't do anything wrong!"

"I did not say that you did anything wrong, only that anyone but you would be in jail right now."

That threw her off balance. "What do you mean?"

"Arresting the Avatar is a legally tricky maneuver," Tenzin said. "Chief Beifong agreed to allow you to go free if I kept a tighter leash on you. But," he held up a finger to forestall her protest, "The city is a very different place from the more...rural areas of the Four Nations. Misunderstandings are common, and a bit of leeway is generally afforded to newcomers. Even moreso for an Avatar who fights Triad thugs and Satocycle gangs."

"So_—_"

"That is not what I want to speak to you about. Come up the stairs with me."

* * *

Korra heard shouting as they reached the top of the island. Then she heard a bark and remembered.

"Naga!" she called, running forward. A white bullet met her, sending her tumbling and crashing to the soft grass with a thousand pounds of fat and pent-up drool landing on her. It hurt something awful_—_for a second it felt like her forearms were going to split in two_—_but Korra didn't care.

"Naga, stop, stop!" Korra laughed. Naga responded with a series of high pitched whines. Guilt cut at Korra.

"I'm sorry, girl," Korra whispered, rubbing and squeezing Naga's cheeks even as every inch of Naga's tongue bathed her face. "I just forgot. I'm sorry."

After a few seconds of struggling, Korra managed to push herself up. Naga didn't relent, shoving her nose everywhere she could, and Korra laughed, rubbing her polar bear dog affectionately.

"Korra," Tenzin said.

Korra jumped; she had forgotten he was there. "Tenzin, I—"

"Your actions tonight were completely inappropriate."

_Not allowed out, am I? _"Tenzin, I did nothing wrong—"

"Your dog went wild when you left!" Tenzin interrupted. "She tore up most of the grass on this side, smashed up most of the meditation pavilion and nearly killed herself almost falling over the edge of the cliff! Did you forget to bring your dog, or at least tell her where you were going?"

"Yeah, I forgot!" Korra snapped back. "I'm sorry, I forget things sometimes, OK? I'll fix the ground for you. I like being out in the grass anyway."

"That's not important," Tenzin said. "We've been up for hours trying to control her. My children couldn't sleep."

Korra's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't thought about that at all.

Tenzin recognized the look on her face. "Pema's inside reading a story to them," he said in a calmer tone. "Still, they were very upset."

"I'm sorry," Korra said in a small voice. "I didn't realize. I've never had to think about that before."

"Which brings me to the other matter," Tenzin said. "When Naga went berserk, naturally we looked for you."

"Right, I was—"

"And we didn't find you. We had no idea where you were."

"I was out in the city!" Korra protested. "I was just looking around. Where else could I have gone?"

"The city is a dangerous place, Korra! More dangerous than you realize."

"I can take care of myself!" At least when Arnook had kept her in there had been nowhere to go. So much for the element of freedom.

"Without my intervention, you would be in jail right now," Tenzin said. Korra didn't answer, and he sighed.

"Not to mention the fact you're not fully healed," Tenzin continued. "You're leaning heavily on Naga as if you find it unpleasant to put all of your weight on your legs, and you move your arms stiffly as if the fracture has not healed. How will you ever start learning airbending if you can't move your body? I will have a healer tend to you tomorrow."

Korra hadn't even noticed she was standing any differently than before. She straightened up and winced at the lance of pain in legs. Tenzin noticed.

"Korra, I never forbade you to go into the city. _But you didn't tell me._ I didn't know where you were, I didn't know what you were doing, even your dog whom you love so much you saw fit to transport her halfway across the world was panicking, and when Chief Beifong herself showed up at the island, saying you were evading arrest for alleged assault...what was I supposed to think? Korra, I was worried about you. We were all worried about you. My children were worried—how do you think they felt when they realized you were missing? They think of you as a cousin, if not an older sister, and Pema and I consider you a niece! Did you think about us at all?"

Korra felt like her insides were being crushed together. She hadn't thought—hadn't realized—

"I'm sorry," she said.

Tenzin sighed, passed a hand over his face. "And I trusted you, Korra, I trusted your judgement. I am no fan of modern bending, but I was willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, and not just as the Avatar but as a young woman who knows herself and has every right to decide her own path." Korra flinched inwardly at that but managed to keep her face still, and Tenzin went on.

Tenzin put his hand on her shoulder, and Korra looked away, ashamed and confused.

"Why don't you show your face to the children so they know you're safe and back," Tenzin suggested, "And then go to sleep." He smiled briefly. "Your training begins soon, after all."

Korra nodded. She didn't trust herself to speak.

"It is a principle in airbending that the lowest point is also the one of greatest possible change," Tenzin said. "Reflect on that." He swirled his orange cloak about himself. "And now, finally, to bed."

* * *

Korra poked her head inside where Pema and her three children lay on the bed together, looking exhausted. They glanced up tiredly up at the sound of the door opening, and after a moment of delayed recognition, the children leapt up to greet her.

"Korra!" they cried, circling around her and grabbing her clothes. "We thought you were gone!"

Korra reached around the three airbenders and pulled them tightly to her. "I'm sorry I left without saying, guys. I promised it won't happen again."

"We're just glad you're back," Pema said.

Korra nodded, unable to speak as Meelo's hot tears fell on her cheek.


	5. The Batbender

Soft, damp grass tickled Korra's feet. The newly rising sun barely warmed her back. On either side of her sat Jinora and Ikki, and farther down by Ikki Meelo yawned and rubbed his face. They each sat with one leg folded on top of the other, hands rested on knees.

In front of them sat Tenzin, the last airbender. In a past life Korra had taught him airbending, and now he would pass the same knowledge onto her. Korra still hadn't quite figured that one out.

Tenzin spoke. "Airbending is the element of freedom, of lateral movements, of spiral motions and redirection. It is the most spiritual element, and to master it you must master patience, foresight, and understanding. An airbender fights with redirection and maneuver. Do you understand, Korra?"

"Not really." Korra rolled her shoulders back. The yellow training clothes and orange shawl hung oddly on her, and the fabric was unfamiliar and itchy. At least the ache in her limbs had faded. "But I'm excited to finally start learning airbending."

Hearing Tenzin's voice was like listening to distant waves lapping at the shore. "What are the internal emotions and attitudes of the other three elements? What about yourself do you have to master to bend?"

"Uh, this isn't my thing." Korra looked up at the sky. Day again instead of night, and she didn't have to do a thing. "Let's see. With waterbending it's about flow, the push and pull of energy inside of you. Nothing can sit still inside of you for too long. The water erodes it, right?"

Tenzin's eyebrows shot up, turning into a mustache for the blue arrow that adorned his bald head. "How should I know?"

"Riiight," Korra said. Being in front of Tenzin made it easier to remember what Katara had taught her. "And it's about regularity. If your inner flow gets disturbed, you can't maintain the shape of the water."

"Wow!" Ikki chirped. "Korra, teach me waterbending later."

"Doesn't work like that, Ikki," Korra smiled. "Next is earthbending. It's about being solid, unmovable—but more than that. It's about the decision to plant your feet and face what's coming head on. It's, uh, conviction, and seeing things through to the end." Korra paused, collecting her thoughts. At least that much had made sense to her.

"And firebending?" Tenzin prompted.

Korra took a deep breath. "Firebending comes from passion and gratitude. What you care about, uh, you have to get heated up about it, and then be grateful to the sun for providing you the energy to protect the things you care about."

"I wanna be a firebender!" Meelo said.

"You're an excellent student, Korra," Tenzin said. Korra blushed inadvertently. She hadn't even mastered firebending.

Tenzin nodded at Jinora. "Jinora, if you would tell Korra about the emotional state of an airbender?"

"Of course, Father," Jinora said. Korra smiled at how closely she resembled her father.

"Korra, listen carefully," Jinora said in the curt, sharp tone of a teacher. The smile disappeared from Korra's face. Jinora was intense.

"Airbending is the element of freedom," Jinora said, "And so internally the airbender must be free as well. Free from inhibition, free from doubt and worry. Airbending begins with acceptance."

Korra nodded. Jinora went on.

"Airbending is the most open element. Airbending relies on intuition and foresight, using spiral motions and redirection to maneuver both the opponent and oneself, and this can only be done by accepting what is happening around you. An airbender does not challenge anything directly. She works with what there is and carries it in the direction it is already going."

"Uh huh." Korra scratched her bottom where it itched.

"Internally, an airbender must be open with herself. She must accept herself." Jinora's eyes closed. Serenity radiated outward from her body. "Externally, she must accept the reality of what surrounds her. Only by first accepting what is real can that reality be changed."

Tenzin smiled. "Well put, Jinora. Do you understand, Korra?"

Korra rolled the sleeves of her yellow uniform up to the shoulder. "You bet I did. Let's accept some stuff!"

"Yeah, let's accept some stuff!" Meelo growled. The dream of becoming a firebender burned brightly in his heart.

"Then let's begin by meditating," Tenzin said. "Korra, you've meditated before, correct?"

"Uh, yeah," Korra said. "Meditating. It's the stuff alright."

"But not, I take it, entirely successfully," Tenzin said calmly. "Korra, try to relax and clear your mind. Let yourself be a leaf carried by the breeze."

"I'll be the leaf. Got it." Korra closed her eyes and furrowed her eyebrows.

Tenzin spoke. "Let your emotions blow and scatter in the wind. Reduce yourself to a point of light. Now imagine that point of light in your forehead."

Korra's eyebrows twitched. "Wait, am I the light or is the light in my head?"

Tenzin's voice continued. "Now let that light travel down your esophagus into your stomach, and let it expand throughout your body. The light takes you away from here to somewhere different. Where are you?"

"What?"

"You're in a forest. The forest is a beach. It is calm and relaxing. You are calm and relaxed. Do you feel calm and relaxed?"

"Quiet and let me concentrate!" Korra snapped.

Tenzin opened an eye.

"Uh, sorry Tenzin," Korra said. This abstract stuff doesn't come as easily to me."

She closed her eyes. "Okay, I'm the leaf."

The sun climbed higher into the sky. The grass rustled in the breeze that fluttered their clothes. "Burn," Meelo whispered. "Fear me..."

Trying to sit still just drew Korra's attention to every slightest itch. Her back ached. She was certain Tenzin was watching her. A burning itch grew on her forehead until she had to open her eyes and see if Tenzin was looking at her.

Tenzin's eyes were closed, his breath slow and rhythmic. Korra shut her eyes again, feeling stupid.

She sniffed; she could smell lemongrass and wet soil being carried on a wind blowing from her left. She peeked at Jinora, who was barely breathing at all. A gentle breeze emanated from her, and she smelled of nature.

Korra grimaced and tried to relax her mind.

Morning. The sun could be seen barely tipping over the horizon. Korra, Tenzin, and his three children sat together on the damp grass.

"Are you ready to try to meditate again?" Tenzin asked Korra.

Korra shrugged. At Korra's request Pema had tightened her yellow training clothes, the sleeves of which Korra kept rolled up to her shoulders. The shawl still clung uncomfortably to her shoulders.

Tenzin gave Korra a concerned look, which Korra ignored.

"This time, I want all of you to think about something you cherish," Tenzin said. "Airbending is not freedom from emotion, as it was thought long ago. My father taught me that I should not seek to relieve myself of earthly attachment but instead seek the freedom to accept what I value in this world. Avatar Aang—" Korra rolled her eyes "—Taught that one should instead open oneself to the possibility of change. Airbenders no longer seek to flee from the evils of the physical world but to direct them away from where they do the most harm to where they do the least in the way that airbenders do: with understanding, acceptance and openness, in order to seek the greatest possible change. That is freedom. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Jinora said.

"Yup!" Ikki sang.

"Um...nope," Korra muttered.

"_Burn_ evil," Meelo whispered.

Tenzin sighed.

* * *

Night.

Korra stifled a yawn. She had removed her shawl, which she found annoying. Tenzin hadn't objected. He spread his feet apart and put arms up in front of his body, his elbows near his ribs and his forearms extended straight out parallel to one another, his hands flat, palms facing down.

"We're fighting?" Korra grinned. "I thought it was just going to be spiritual stuff."

"It's important for you to learn the physical side of airbending as well."

"Not that I'm complaining, but I can't even airbend yet." Korra jabbed experimentally. "Nope. Nothing."

"No matter," Tenzin said. "You will develop your spiritual side in time and master airbending. But there are many paths to spiritual mastery. There is a strand of airbender thought that asserts the inseparability of spiritual and physical mastery. Besides, it will be good for you to deal with your excess energy in a constructive way instead of tormenting the White Lotus sentries all day. Aren't you going to attack me?"

Korra smirked. "Look, Tenzin, no offense, but I have three elements, I've been training since I was a kid, and you're kind of, uh...aged? I don't want you to get upset if you lose."

"I am the son of the Avatar Aang and the greatest waterbending master in the world, Katara. Despite my pacifistic ways and stolid demeanor, I'm quite powerful."

"Well, I always looked forward to fighting an airbender." Korra settled into an earthbending stance. "Let's go then."

"Earth against air?" Tenzin said. "Perfect. Show me what you've got, Avatar."

Korra couldn't help but grin at how belligerent the usually serious Tenzin sounded. A little energy flowed into her. She tensed, watching his form gently sway. It would be too dark to defend against a rapid attack. The conditions favored offense.

She decided to surprise him, lashing out twice with her fists. Two fireballs lit up the night and zipped in at chest height towards Tenzin, who calmly dispelled both with short circular motions from his hands.

Korra bounced lightly on her feet. Tenzin hadn't shown her much of his airbending before and he didn't seem intent to do so now. She flipped up the front end of her left foot, a motion too small and sudden for anyone to follow in the dark, yet Tenzin stepped neatly around the block of earth that had pushed up underneath his foot.

He danced forward, spinning around and thrusting forward with both arms. In the darkness Korra's reaction was delayed, and she could only guard as the blast of wind pushed her back. Tenzin slid forward, letting off another two-handed gust of wind. Korra blocked that as well with a grunt, and then she leaped forward, now fully aroused for battle.

She slid in low, kicking up the earth in front of her for cover while Tenzin waved a hand. Her slide took her to the edge of Tenzin's feet, nearly touching, a point-blank range where her modern bending techniques, raw as they were, were better suited than Tenzin's ancient style. She came up with her hand a rocket of fire streaking toward Tenzin's face, and then a gust of wind slammed into her ear from the side at an angle Tenzin couldn't have possibly reached. At the same time his hand pushed her burning fist up, completely throwing Korra off balance. She stumbled to the side, nearly falling, one leg waving in the air and then a gust of wind pushed that leg up and over, and Korra flipped around and fell onto the ground.

Korra pushed herself up furiously, but Tenzin was already there with an outstretched hand.

"Not bad, Korra," he said, the belligerence gone from his voice. He pulled her to her feet. "You might be wondering how I read you in the darkness."

She nodded, dumbfound, brushing herself off. Tenzin was good. She never knew.

"In order to successfully redirect an opponent's attack, you have to anticipate the attack," Tenzin explained. "And to anticipate the attack requires understanding of the opponent, and to understand the opponent, you have to accept her as a reality. As you can see, this skill is at the heart of airbending."

Korra grinned. "Interestin-hah!" Another burst of flame illuminated their figures in the darkness.

* * *

Korra crept through the shadows cast by the colorful fake stars that lit up Republic City. Her mark—three of them, were themselves skulking in an alley, talking in low voices and looking about shiftily. It seemed as good a place as any for criminal activity. Unfortunately, elderly ladies seemed to agree. No one came down the road whistling and waving about a bag full of money.

She needed to add some salt to this turgid pot of whale yak stew.

Korra stumbled out of the shadows. "Wow, just what I need," she panted. "A bunch of big, hairy hunters like yourselves."

They jerked around at her appearance. "What'd ya say?"

"My ship got stuck in the ice a ways back," she said. "I had to swim through shark penguin infested waters to get to shore..." she trailed off. They were giving her really strange looks. "I mean, uh, my Satocycle broke. The...go-maker...isn't...enginizing properly."

That seemed to get their attention. "What kind of Satocycle?"

"The...other kind."

"A VarricKart?" one snorted. "Those things are rubbish. You're better off without it."

"Uh, no, the...the good kind. You know the one. It goes real fast?"

"Why don't you let us take a look?" the one in the middle said. Korra guessed he was a firebender, judging by the way he didn't keep his feet firmly planted on the ground. The "We're real good at fixing Satocycles."

She motioned for them to follow her further into the alley where the shadows grew tall. "Just a little further this way."

"Where're your friends, missy?" the probably-firebender asked. "Where's your parents?"

"Oh, they're all on the boat still."

"You're fresh off?"

"Definitely."

"So where's ya Satocycle?"

The only lights nearby were blocked by the wall this deep into the alley. No one was around.

Perfect.

She fished out some of the money Tenzin had given her and dropped it in front of her. "Whoops, it looks like the thing about the Satocycle was a lie. But I have all this money. Maybe you should try to attack me for it."

They stared at her. "What?"

She spread her feet, carving out the earth underneath her. Flames danced at the ends of her fingers. "I said, _attack me_."

* * *

Night, two weeks later.

Korra kept parallel with the Satocycle gang, enhancing her velocity with earthbending as they tore down the street, literally in Korra's case. They didn't notice her, their engines as loud as a person screaming right in your ear _forever_ and their stupid headlights so bright none of them could see a thing to their right or their left. Besides, they were focused on their catch: another group of people on Satocycles, caught like fish in a net.

She didn't wait to see what they were going to do next. No, she wanted them to see what _she_ was going to do next.

Korra jumped to the top of the wall and scaled across to the unlit buildings overlooking the dark street. She sunk her fingers in the brick and hauled herself up to the top. Birdlike creatures with demonic faces that Tenzin, after a bit of initial confusion at Korra's description, called 'wolfbats' flitted spastically through the air, emitting "kee-kee-kee" noises from their oversized heads. Korra lit the ends of her hands and dashed forward, trailing fire behind her. At the edge of the roof she leaped off, hanging in the air for a single glorious moment before gravity took its hold on her. She plummeted down, the fire stretching out like the wings of a diving bird about to snatch its prey from the water, surrounded by a frantic swirl of wolfbats carried aloft by her momentum and dancing around the flames.

The earth didn't crack under her weight. It _bent_, drawing in like a rubbery mass, but instead of bouncing back the force rippled outward, throwing the earth up in pillared waves. Korra cast the fire about herself, her eyes glowing orange, and within the flames wolfbats towered into the air.

She cast a critical eye over the sprawled Satocycles and collapsed bodies. "Fear me, criminals of Republic City! The shadow of justice is here!"

* * *

Night, three hours earlier.

"Ack! Damn—" Korra's own momentum carried her over, and she fell flat on her face in front of Tenzin, who was only a dark shape in the night. She lay there, not getting up. It was the sixth time she had fallen that night.

"Are you alright, Korra?" Tenzin knelt down by her. "You push yourself too hard."

Korra rolled over. She couldn't make out Tenzin's face in the darkness. "This is ridiculous. You're too good. Nothing I use—range, power, fire and earth together—works on you. You predict and redirect everything."

"Perhaps you should use water too. My mother would carry a water skin so that she could waterbend anywhere."

"Don't make fun of me, Tenzin."

"You're exhausted from spending too many nights in the city," Tenzin suggested. "And you miss more meditation times than I would ever accept from my children."

"It wouldn't make a difference. You're too good at this."

Tenzin sighed. "Korra, I never trained like this before in my life. You're the first airbender to use this training method."

Korra looked at Tenzin in surprise. "What are you talking about? What did Aang do for you?"

"More traditional methods," Tezin said. "Methods that I didn't think would suit you."

Despite herself, Korra was curious. "So why sparring in the dark?"

"Because you come alive when you fight, Korra," Tenzin said. "It's something you love, and you are at your least guarded then."

"I try to keep my guard up when I fight," Korra joked weakly, fighting down the rising uneasiness. "You're just really good."

"I'm not stronger or faster than you," Tenzin replied. "I can't see you in the dark any better than you can see me."

"So how—"

"Because I am open to you, I accept you and understand you, and so I predict your movements. If you would only open up to me—"

"Well, excuse me!" Korra snapped. "Maybe if you would teach me how to do that stuff instead of just repeating yourself over and over I would be able to learn something!" Korra panted in the shocked silence.

Finally Tenzin spoke. "Maybe you're right. I might not be a suitable teacher for you. But there is no one else."

Korra didn't respond. Tenzin spoke again.

"Perhaps your time in the city—I've heard rumors—"

Korra stood up suddenly, the bolt of adrenaline filling her with strength. She reached down, and Tenzin grabbed her hand instinctively. Korra pulled him to his feet and at the same time punched with her other fist.

Tenzin yanked on her hand that he held, pulling her forward and bringing her striking fist in line with his free hand, which deflected the blow just before the fireball went off, sending a scorching blast into the dirt. He kicked her feet out from under her and twisted so that she fell flat on her front. Korra roared and pounded her fist against the ground, cracking the stone.

Tenzin massaged his temple, trying to think.

* * *

The next morning, Tenzin poured a mug of ginseng tea and sat down with the _Daily Republic_. He frowned at the front page title. "Who Is the Mysterious 'Batbender?'"

Tenzin kept reading. "...debate abounds as to the bender behind the mask. Identified by his characteristic affinity for wolfbats, he is rumored to be a firebender, earthbender, waterbender, airbender, metalbender, lightningbender, bloodbender, soundbender, and heartbender, depending on who you ask and what day of the week it is. The police are flummoxed and have repeatedly denied comment, seemingly distracted...sources say that something is messing with their seismic radio...thankfully, the Batbender is there to fill the gap. We here at the Daily Republic proudly salute Republic City's dark knight..."

Tenzin's face colored red. "KORRA!"


	6. A Spiral is a Circle That Makes Progress

A Satocycle's roar is a loud, guttural sound of air ripping. Many wealthy and learned citizens of Republic City have declared Satocycles a menace, and quite a few others, more humble in status if not in self-esteem, concur. All of them have learned to fear the sound of a Satocycle screaming in the distance.

What they don't appreciate, Mako thought as he tore down the street on his bike, his red scarf fluttering behind him, is that Future Industries engineers their Satocycles to be as quiet as possible. That's why one of the first things any self-respecting biker has to do is jigger the pipe until the Satocycle can be heard from one end of the city to the other.

Mako's Satocycle sounded like a cannon firing a storm out of a barrel made of rockets.

His younger brother, riding beside him, had a Satocycle that purred like a cat.

"Yours is loud enough for both of us," Bolin had said. "Besides, it was a lot harder to make it quieter than to make it louder. I found out how to do it from one of the books in the library. Want me to show you?"

Bolin and his books. Reading had never done much for either of them. Science was fine if you worked in the University or engineered things for a living, but the real lessons about living couldn't be written down, or maybe writers just didn't know them.

Lessons like challenging a rival gang to a rumble. Letting them know exactly when and where to show up. Developing a reputation over months for similar challenges to other gangs. Always fulfilling the terms of the challenge no matter what.

Getting there early.

Mako had found the perfect spot. Two people could hide in each alley that flanked the meeting spot, riding out side by side, and above and below there were half a dozen nooks and side streets a bike could ride out of. The roar of their Satocycles would mask their approach.

Mako revved his engine. His Fire Ferrets knew the sound of his bike. It would be the signal to attack. In…just a few more…

Now.

Mako let the engine rip. The sonic blast was deafening, or so he hoped. The Buzzard Wasps would have no time to react. Behind him, Bolin was barely keeping up. Bright white lights flared from the front Mako's Satocycle. Just another gift for the Wasps to deal with.

In less than three seconds Mako tore down the straight. He was moving too fast for a fireball, so he hefted a metal pole about a foot long and extended it out to his left. In front of him, the Wasps hadn't moved at all. He reached them within the next second, when they had only just started to move, and his metal pipe connected with someone's head. Mako was already releasing the pipe before impact. It was still moving fast enough to take out the unlucky Wasp, and that way he wouldn't be knocked off balance.

Behind him he heard screams and the sounds of new Satocycles roaring, and then an explosion of noise as two Satocycles passed him. That would be his well-drilled Fire Ferrets. When the other gangs were drinking and smashing windows, his Ferrets were training.

By the time Mako got his bike turned around, it was already over. Bent and bloodied metal pipes lay scattered around a pile of bodies, some moaning, some silent. Mako found a tempting head of hair and hoisted it out of the heap.

"That should just about do it," Mako said. The biker didn't even make an effort to pull away as Mako held him up by his hair. One of his arms was twisted at a grotesque angle, and blood poured from a gash on his face. "I'd say that was a successful incursion into Buzzard Wasp turf, wouldn't you say? If you can talk after this, let everyone know what happens when you go against the Fire Ferrets." In response, the Wasp spat out a tooth.

"We did pretty good, Mako," Hasook said, picking a metal pipe off the ground. He frowned. "We're going to have to beat the dents out of these."

"Cost of doing business." Mako let the Wasp fall from his hand and turned to his Fire Ferrets. "Everyone in good shape? How about bikes? Grab one of the Wasps' if you need to. Bolin can fix them up later. Bolin? Hey, Bolin?"

Bolin was staring at the pile of bodies. He didn't respond until Mako grabbed him by the arm.

"Bolin, you OK?"

"I thought I saw Yamagata."

"For Flameo's sake, Bolin, what the hell? Just get on your bike. Let's go before the Batbender gets here. Clean the blood off your pipes, everyone! I want to see straight and clean weapons from everyone tomorrow."

"Can we just leave the bodies here?" Hasook asked.

"Do you think the metalheads will give a damn who did this? Now split!"

* * *

On her days off from working at Air Temple Island Jie Ming volunteered to put stacks of different pamphlets into the appropriate boxes and push those boxes to the person standing next to her, who sealed the boxes and gave them to the next person, who put them in the delivery box which was then placed on one of the trucks. The trucks went out around the city at night delivering pamphlets containing important information for existing Equalists and messages aimed at converting the apathetic to sympathizers and sympathizers to comrades.

**THE EQUALIST REVOLUTION!**  
** MORE LIES FROM THE COUNCIL: THE FUNDAMENTAL INJUSTICE OF THE CULTURAL PROTECTION ACT REVEALED**  
** THE TENETS OF THE EQUALIST MOVEMENT: EQUALITY, JUSTICE, AND OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL**

Some people laughed at her when Jie Ming had volunteered to help make package the pamphlets. "Jie Ming," they had said, "Don't you know the comrades who really make a difference are the ones writing the pamphlets or organizing a demonstration, making speeches, inspiring people and spreading the message? And you volunteer to package pamphlets? Don't you want to be more than that in the Equalist movement?"

**Benders have been planning since the foundation of Republic City itself to oppress the bending class and ensure their own superiority. The Great and Noble Charter that governs this city was written entirely by benders. Why do non-benders earn barely more than half what benders do? Because the laws, legal according the Charter, prevent us from doing so. Laws that demand construction is done by earthbenders, and firebenders must man steam engines. Their excuse is safety. They bleat it like sheep, "Safety! Safety! Oppression in the name of safety!" In fact, non-bender construction is cheaper and better-engineered that earthbended construction, and non-bender ingenuity has developed ways to maintain flames at high heat just as safely and at a lower cost than firebenders can. These laws are revealed for what they are: protection, protection of benders at the expense of non-benders...**

Jie Ming disagreed. Before the Equalists, she had been a non-bender living in poverty, sweeping the house of an old bending family to support her three little brothers. Jie Ming still shivered to remember how little she had understood about the world, how circumscribed her vision had been. Her thoughts had never expanded past the end of the week when she would bring home money, enough able to buy food, a little oil, and to put away a paltry sum, which was better than most, she discovered. Jie Ming could turn a half-jiang into dinner and a week's worth of leftovers, and her knack for finance had saved her more than once. Equalist pamphlets would show up in the mailbox, slipped under the door and ended in the trash. She had no time, no energy, no attention left for politics.

Then she was fired, accused of stealing one of a thousand or so priceless jewels the rich family had sitting around the house. Coming home, she saw a dozen envelopes wedged into the door's edge, each marked "From one comrade to another, the Equalists always look after their own." Exhaustion beyond exhaustion settled into her, and she read a pamphlet, and then another and another. And she learned how her poverty was caused by the collusion of the benders against the non-benders, how they guarded their wealth and made doctors unaffordable, how they used their status and power to ensure that the best jobs and advances went to their children, leaving nothing for Jie Ming and her brothers. The pamphlets showed her how they conspired to maintain their power with laws that indirectly targeted non-benders, making it, by what they pretended was coincidence (Who did they think they were fooling? Had there ever been a non-bender on the Council?), impossible for non-benders to eke out a living or to even challenge the corrupt and unjust laws. Yes, the wise and great Charter protected their freedom to organize and speak, and that was worth squat if your organization was locked out of politics and all you could say was, "Please sir, may I have some more?"

**Benders think they're from another century. They dress like royalty and behave as if status and wealth is more important than the suffering of their neighbors—at least if that neighbor is a non-bender. Do they not remember the centuries of war, when the whole world was under the thrall and sway of the benders and their false Doctrine of Chi? Or do they remember it and long for the old days when benders ruled and non-benders could consider themselves lucky not to have their house set on fire by a bored firebender...**

Now Jie Ming was an Equalist, and Equalists took care of their own. Equalists supported her family, offered her consolation and companionship, found her work in a non-bender's shop. Her brothers played together with the children of other Equalists in one of the dormitories, and Jie Ming's life was about more than sweeping beautiful marble floors and dusting ornate gold frames for the benders who despised her. She was part of a movement, a movement with a mission that would bring equality, justice, wealth and opportunity for her and her brothers.

**The Equalists need your support! Only through unity can non-benders throw off the chains of oppression that bind us to our "rightful place" in life. Join your local chapter! Volunteer...**

So let them laugh if she wanted to package pamphlets. What good was writing true, powerful messages if they couldn't be shipped out for everyone to read them? No, packaging pamphlets was just as important, and if not as many people wanted to do it, then all the more important for someone like Jie Ming to volunteer. That was what being an Equalist was about.

**Demonstration in the park by the Northern Quarters, ALL COMRADES IN THE AREA SHOULD ATTEND, important information regarding new political strategies and Equalist theory applied to industry and fashion...**

Besides, it wasn't like Jie Ming didn't have a more glamorous job of her own within the Equalist honeycomb. She worked six days a week at Air Temple Island.

**If every non-bender donated just five jiangs, the Equalists would be able to fund twice as many demonstrations, more training and facilities for new recruits and their families, more pamphlets for faster recruiting and increased donations...**

Jie Ming took another stack of pamphlets and efficiently sorted them into the appropriate box. She was making a difference and giving back to the movement that had saved her. With this lowly work she brought the Equalist revolution closer every day. And poor Councilman Tenzin had no idea.

* * *

Tenzin slapped the newspaper in her face. "What is this?"

Korra looked at the picture. "A...half man, half bear hawk?"

"It's the Batbender, Korra. 'Faster than a Satocycle, leaps down from tall buildings, bends every element.' You haven't heard?"

A grin spread over Korra's face. "No, I hadn't."

"She can bend every element, they say."

"He." She frowned. "Why is his skin so pale? Racebending is the worst sort of ilisinek."

"Korra!" Tenzin rubbed his face tiredly. "You need to find a constructive way to deal with your energy."

"I know. I'm going shopping with Jie Ming!"

"You...what?"

"She said she would show me how to go shopping. Well. I told her to, and she said yes."

* * *

"Good girl!" Korra said encouragingly, strolling alongside Naga around the pavilion. She pointed at an Air Acolyte sweeping the floor nearby.

"Look, an innocent civilian! Do we eat him? Do we maul him to death and rip his limbs off?"

Naga considered the terrified and confused Air Acolyte briefly and dismissed him with a shrug.

"No we don't!" Korra said. "No we don't! We just keep on going because we're a lovable puppy dog and not a vicious man-eating monster. No one's going to be scared when you walk down the street. Who's a good girl? Who's a good girl?"

Naga snorted. She was, duh.

"Be a good girl for me while I head out!"

* * *

Korra had instructed Jie Ming to wait by the ferry. She made sure Naga had food and ran to the cliff, jumping down and landing with a satisfying thud that seemed to rock the whole island.

She scanned the area. Jie Ming wasn't there.

"Avatar Korra," Jie Ming said.

Korra jumped. Jie Ming came into view, dark bangs hanging over her dark eyes, her short frame perpetually hunched over, shoulders bowed. "When did you get here?" Had she surprised her on purpose? Trying to embarrass her? "I didn't see you there."

"I'm good at holding still," Jie Ming said. "It's a job skill."

"Dodging Tenzin, huh?"

"As you say. Shall we go, Avatar Korra?"

"You should teach me how to do that," Korra said as they got on the ferry. "It would come in handy."

"As you wish, Avatar Korra."

"Just...'Korra' is fine."

"As you wish."

The ferry deposited them at the other end of the bay. Jie Ming led the way toward the markets.

"Shopping for the Air Temple is much easier than shopping for home," Jie Ming said. "The Air Nomads deliberately eat simple food and no meat."

"Yeah, I have got to introduce the kids to a walrus seal stake sometime," Korra said.

Jie Ming took a large wooden basket. "This way."

Korra's idea of a market was a loud huddle of bearded old men lying about how much their fish weighed. It was small, local, temporary and something Arnook strived to keep her away from.

"But I'm the best liar," she had said, rubbing her palms together. "There aren't nobody who won't take the Avatar's word for it!"

"You have better things to do than learn how to cheat your fellow man," Arnook said. "The Avatar is above _merchanting_."

But Republic City's market was like a miniature city of its own. Colorful stalls packed tight as a waterbender's snowball lined the long street thronged with people as far as Korra could see. It was loud too, a dozen people per stall holding up various things Korra didn't recognize and jabbering away too fast for her to parse their thick citizen's accent.

"Please, Avatar Korra," Jie Ming said, motioning for her to follow. "We can begin shopping now."

Korra nodded, stumbling as she tried to walk forward while her head swiveled from right to left so fast it made her dizzy. "What's that?"

"Noodles. You haven't tried them?"

A storm of smells assailed her. "What's all _that_?"

"Spices. You had some in your soup yesterday."

"And that?"

"That is a papaya, Avatar Korra."

Korra made a face. "Ew."

The man behind the stall noticed her looking. He held up one of the green-yellow fruits, smiling broadly. "You, girl, you like papaya? Eh? A pound for only a half-_jiang_. I am slitting my throat here."

"Jie Ming, let's buy it!"

"We are on a tight budget, Av—"

"He'll slit his throat if we don't!"

"I'll let you buy the bean sprouts."

Korra pouted, but she brightened up again when Jie Ming found bowls of plump white bean sprouts sitting in a stall. She pinched a few before telling the woman to gather a pound and put them in her basket.

Korra was literally humming with excitement when Jie Ming turned to her.

"I'm going to give you the money."

"Yeah!"

"And she's going to say how much."

"Okay!"

"I already know how much, so just give her the money."

"Yes!"

"And she'll give you some back because it's more than what we owe. It's called change."

"Change! I love change!"

The woman handed Jie Ming the bundle of bean sprouts. "_Jainyu_."

"I'm paying!" Korra held out the magenta paper rectangle. The woman opened her hand, and after a moment of indecision, Korra thrust the _jiang_ into her hand, pressing it tight in case it flew away. She wrapped the woman's fingers around the money and pulled away, wiping her damp hands on her clothes.

The woman gave her an odd look but handed her back three coins silently. Korra dropped them nervously into Jie Ming's money-pack.

"I did it!" Korra flushed with triumph. "I bought something! With change!"

"Well done, Avatar Korra. Next is the bean curd."

"Always beans, huh? Let me do the bargaining on this one!"

Jie Ming blinked. "Pardon?"

"You didn't say a word when she told you the price. You probably paid about five times what the sprouts are actually worth. Here, I'll show you."

Jie Ming took them to the next stall, and Korra elbowed her way to the front. She didn't even glance at the elderly man as she peered at the whitish lumps.

Finally, looked up at him, barely suppressing a snort. "_These_ are you bean curds?"

"That's right. Half-_jiang _for—"

"Half-_jiang?_ I wouldn't pay half anything for this entire stall! The color is off—" she poked one "—the texture is soft. They're probably half-rotten. When did you catch these, on the last full moon?" She sniffed. "You're using a lot of salt to cover up the smell. Afraid to let your bean curd speak for itself? I won't even suggest we bother getting out a scale. I'm sure you've stuffed them all with padding. I'll give you...half an eel for an entire bowl."

He blinked. "Half-_jiang._"

"For what? For an oily slimeball like that?" Korra said loudly. "The scales are all rotted off!"

"It doesn't have any scales!"

"Exactly! Half-eel, two spear heads." She slapped her palms together. "Deal."

"We, uh, only accept _jiangs_."

"Tenth-_jiang_, one bowl, and you're lucky it's not less."

"I, uh." He looked defeated. "Okay."

Jie Ming handed the man a pair of coin. "We'll take two bowls, please."

"That was fun," Korra said as they made there way toward their next target, cabbage. "How much money did I save us?"

"Pair-half," Jie Ming said. "We can buy more things now."

"We couldn't before? Why not?"

"Because we didn't have more money."

"We could just get more," Korra said. "I know a beggar. Where does Tenzin get his money?"

"It's complicated," Jie Ming sighed. For a second, the usually unflagging Jie Ming looked tired. "Councilman Tenzin's income has a number of sources."

"How many beggars?"

"I'm afraid I don't understand the question."

"I learned my first day here how to make money," Korra said. "You beg for it out on the street, right?"

Jie Ming only looked more confused, so Korra explained about trying to buy food and meeting Norton. By the end of it, Jie Ming seemed lost in thought.

"Come with me," she said. They walked down a street away from the endless stalls. When it was quieter, Jie Ming set the basket of food down and turned to her.

"Some people—" she stopped. "There are—no." She gathered herself. She was almost shaking.

"Are you all right?" Korra asked. "Sorry if my bargaining upset you. It's normal in the South Pole."

"It's not that. Where do you think a man like Norton sleeps at night?"

"His house, like everyone else."

"No. On the street, maybe exactly where you left him."

Korra cocked her head. "Why would he do that?"

"He has no home."

"So he could just sleep in somebody else's until he can build a new one."

"It doesn't work that way here."

Korra remembered the line of houses that all rejected her. "No, it doesn't."

"Other people like Tenzin and his family sleep indoors. Their home is very big."

"That doesn't make sense," Korra said. "Why not just divide up all the space evenly so everyone has a place to sleep?"

Jie Ming told her. Korra frowned and asked her to repeat some things. After a while, Jie Ming took out some paper and drew some diagrams.

"I wish Katara were here," Korra said. "She could clear this up in no time."

"Tenzin's mother?"

"Worst ilisinek in the southern hemisphere."

"There are those of us," Jie Ming said, "Who believe the Avatar will bring balance."

"I was thinking the same thing. Let's go get those cabbages. This time, I'm bargaining _and _paying."

* * *

"The streets of Republic City looked realer the second time Korra saw them in the daylight. Blurred memories and vague impressions evaporated altogether, and her bare feet felt solid and sure on the stone. She was surprised to see how different things look than how she remembered them. Buildings and cars were smaller than she recalled, and the streets didn't stretch on nearly as long. Clothing was more intricate and detailed, and she marveled at the wide array of hats. What were they protecting their heads from? Tenzin walked around bald, so it couldn't be anything too dangerous.

Korra presented the letter Tenzin had given her to the doorman who stood in front of Toza's Mixed Bending Gymnasium.

"Councilman Tenzin is paying for me to take lessons," she said. She turned and opened the door.

"Hey!" the doorman said. "I have to look at this first. Also, you need to put some shoes on."

"Special Avatar exception," Korra said, and she walked inside.

"Special…what?" The doorman stared at the letter and finally opened it. His eyes skipped down the note, looked up to the door swinging shut, and back down to the letter.

He frowned and scratched his head. "Well I'll be damned."

The gymnasium was one of the biggest buildings Korra had ever been inside, easily able to hold almost one hundred people. The sounds reached her first: the sound of flesh slapping against sandbags, the groans and grunts of benders exerting themselves, the cracking of rock against rock and the sizzle of flame. Then the thick, pungent smell of sweat assaulted her nostrils, and she squirmed when she realized what the floor must be damp from.

The interior of the gym was cramped with red-faced, heaving bodies. Combatants circled each other inside stone rings marked off by blue ropes, and others drilled against sandbags, shadowboxed, or lifted weights and stretched with equipment against the wall.

Korra planted her feet on the damp wooden floor and breathed deeply. She let the sensations flow through her, the stench and chaos, the sounds of fighters pushing their bodies to the brink, the elements smashing against each other, and as an earthbender collapsed with a "HUUURGH!" under the weight of rocks he piled on top of his own body, Korra exhaled.

She was home.

She grabbed the next person who walked by.

"I'm the Avatar and I'm here to learn modern bending," Korra said. "Get me someone who can teach me."

* * *

A tall firebender named Mako who removed a bright red scarf when he walked in was assigned to instruct her. He seemed shocked to meet the Avatar.

"I would not have guessed," he kept saying, "Though it makes a lot of sense. Let me just say that my crew and I are very, very supportive of your efforts."

Was he talking about the Batbender? Or the wrecked cabbage stall? Either way, it felt good to have some proper recognition for once. She shook his hand, testing his grip, and they squared off inside a ring marked by ropes.

"I get why you want to learn modern bending," Mako said. "You could be a three man team—or a four man team—all by yourself."

"That's the plan."

"Can I ask why? I didn't think the Avatar went for nontraditional things like this."

At that moment, looking into his amber eyes, Korra was all about nontraditional things. "My first day here I got into a fight with some thugs," Korra said. "I won, but it was way too close for comfort."

"How'd you get into a fight?"

"There were these three guys threatening a shopkeeper."

An eyebrow went up. "Threatening a shopkeeper...how?"

"Like, uh..." Korra squared her shoulders and bunched up her face. "Hey, you bedda do dah stuff oh dah boss is gonna hear aboud id."

Mako put a hand over one eye. "And let me guess, there was an earthbender, a firebender, and a waterbender fighting as a unit."

"Yeah! You've seen that? It was crazy, I'd never heard of different kinds of benders fight as a unit like that. All the training I did at the South Pole didn't prepare me at all for the way people fight here."

"The way some people here fight," Mako said. His face was undergoing contortions, but Korra didn't know if he was angry or about to laugh.

Mako got himself under control. "And you want to learn how to fight that way?"

"Yes."

"We'll start right now," Mako said. "The first thing you'll have to unlearn is stopping your punch. You probably learned contact fighting, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"When you're not really trying to hit your opponent as hard as you can."

Korra's lips twitched. "Well, mostly."

"Right, right. Well. Lose that habit."

"Okay," Korra said.

Mako blinked, hesitated. "That's it? No attachment to ancient traditional martial disciplines and the honor of your sensei?"

Korra grinned. "I never really listened to my masters."

Mako's face flashed through a series of responses before settling on detached amusement. "Well, try to listen to me. So, let's talk about...everything. Your moves. Don't use them."

"What, all of them?"

"Yeah. You know the Crouching Lotus Dragon to Leaping Fish Strike form?"

"Yes."

"Don't use it."

"So what do I use?"

"Earth Punch To Vulnerable Unprotected Body Part. Fire Kick To Vulnerable Unprotected Body Part. Water Eye Poke. Water Choke Slam. Things like that."

Korra crossed her arms. "That doesn't sound very official."

Mako didn't smirk like Korra expected him to, only shrugged. "I didn't learn in a dojo. Anyway, just talk is no good. Let's get the basics down by going over some fundamentals of hand-to-hand fighting. That'll give you a sense of the sort of movements mixed benders use and the psychology you'll need to be an effective modern fighter."

"Actually, I know the basics already," Korra said. "I learned from the best hand-to-hand fighter in the South Pole, Naga."

"Never heard of him."

"Her. She's a polar bear dog. And she's my best friend."

"Your best friend is a polar bear dog," Mako said. "Not a wolfb—ah, right. Secret identity. Let's get started."

* * *

A fist curved in toward Korra's face; she jerked back but something sunk into her gut, and she doubled over. Before Mako could follow up, she pushed into his space, her head colliding with his chest, and she caught his knee as flew at her. She knew Mako would slam his fists down, so she shoved off with her legs, sending them both tumbling to the ground. Somehow she ended up beneath him, and she pulled her arms up in front of her face instinctively.

Nothing came.

"Not bad for a first try," Mako said. "But don't take things to the ground against a bigger, more experienced opponent."

"Just what am I supposed to do against a bigger, more experienced opponent?" Korra snapped.

Mako paused. "Good question. Lose gracefully?"

"That's helpful," Korra muttered. Mako grinned, and in that instant she sat up and landed two jabs into his stomach. He grunted and doubled over while she wriggled out from underneath him.

"It's a good lesson," Mako gasped. "Nicely done."

Korra bowed. "Thank you, sensei."

A crowd had gathered to watch Mako spar with the Avatar. Korra's comment brought laughter and a few claps. More than a few seemed happy to see Mako taken down. Emboldened, Korra squared off and beckoned to him.

"You want to go another round, sensei?"

"Kick his ass," someone called.

Mako got to his feet slowly and didn't seem to mind the crowd. "No, that was good. You have the mentality down already, and that's what concerned me most." He rubbed his chin. "I don't know how well pro bending tactics will translate to your style. Mixed bending fighting is based around teamwork, but you can use the all elements by yourself. That means you probably need a style that's based around constant, efficient motion so that you can fight like a team of three benders. You'll need a lot of stamina. Do you train by yourself?"

"…A little."

"Good. The other thing you'll need is constant awareness of the environment. You'll be doing the work of a firebender, a waterbender, and an earthbender by yourself. That means you need to know where the elements are at all times. Unlike in the South Pole, you won't find water just anywhere here. You need to start carrying water with you. You need to know when you're standing on earth, how deep and far the earth goes, what kind of earth you're standing on—how dense is it, how much can it block, how hard can it hit? In a pro bending arena, the earthbenders usually fight to control the field while waterbenders exploit the maneuverability their ice and steam gives them to harass the opponents. Firebenders are the most linear, so they have to be able to predict, recognize and exploit any opportunities to strike. You'll have to learn to think tactically, strategically, and how to fight on pure instinct."

"Okay."

"Okay? What's 'okay?' You listening to me? Fine, enough talk. Come over here. Get into a stance. Okay, get out of that stance. Never go into that stance again." Mako turned his side to Korra so far that he was almost pointing his back at her. He raised both fists high in front of his face. "Like this. And you open like—" Mako lashed out twice with his left fist, sending a pair of fireballs zipping by Korra's face, who jerked away. Mako's fists had flashed with no warning at all.

She glared at him, trying to cover up her embarrassment, but he didn't seem to notice at all. "Now you try," he said, and he drilled her on that single punch for over an hour.

"This feels awesome!" Korra said, leaning against the ropes and catching her breath. "I haven't learned a new fighting technique in so long."

"A jab like this is just for when an opponent is far away, but that won't last long," Mako said. "Modern bending happens a lot closer up than what you're used to. Use it to set a rhythm and get a feel for the opponent."

"How did you learn all this stuff?"

Mako leaned closer. He smelled like sweat and something else that Korra couldn't place. "The same way you did," he said. "Fighting crime."

She didn't move. "What do you mean?"

"Fire Ferrets," Mako said. "Ever heard of us?" Korra shook her head. "Oh well. We're a Satocycle gang. We're cleaning up the city. Bringing balance. We should work together."

Korra nodded. "I've learned recently there's a lot more to bringing balance that simply mastering the elements."

"Break time's over! Now with the right hand.

It was dark by the time they finished. All the others had long since left. Weak on her legs and covered in bruises as colorful as the flush of joy on her face from learning half a dozen new fighting techniques, Korra gratefully accepted a ride to the ferry. Mako watched it leave, then turned his bike around and headed for home. He rode slowly. Every time the bike bounced or shook, his body jolted with pain wherever Korra had hit him, and she had hit him a lot.

"What have I gotten myself into?" Mako muttered. "Going to have to put off—" and he winced as the Satocycle shuddered over a pothole.

* * *

"Korra," Tenzin said. "If you're not busy today—"

"I have pro bending practice—"

"—You can consider it part of your airbending training to escort Jinora to the library. She's been begging me to get her some new books, but I've been busy."

"Just tell her not to read," Korra said. "I'm pretty sure reading is bad for you."

"There are books on astronomy, you know."

Rat molluscs! She had told him about missing the stars. Now he was trying to use it against her to make her _read_. "What do you mean, astronomy? Like our observatory in the South Pole?"

"Yes. There are books about the stars, dozens of them. I've only read one or two and don't know much about it, but there are people who have written down everything about the stars. Their names, where they are, who they are. Everything."

Jinora did an actual backflip upon hearing that Korra had "volunteered" to take her to the library. Korra's mood only worsened at the way Jinora effortlessly bent the air currents around her to slow her descent, and she grabbed the airbending runt and put her firmly on the floor. But no sooner had she grounded Jinora than she raced off to her room and came back with half a dozen baskets made out of the grass fiber the Air Nomads wouldn't shut up about.

"Only two," Korra said. "Any more and you're carrying them yourself."

Jinora handed the excess to her father and the other two to Korra. "Can we ride Naga?"

"If she wants. She eats dorks though."

"Okay! Ikki, Meelo, want any books?"

"No, books are gross!" Ikki shouted. "Bring me one about a princess. With a sword. That can talk! And she lives on a boat and drinks seawater and everyone likes her. Her name is Singsong."

"…Fireben'er book," Meelo grunted.

"Daddy? Anything? Mommy?"

"No, Jinora," Tenzin smiled. "Be sure to show Korra where she can find books on astronomy." Korra growled, and then her mouth fell open when Tenzin winked at her.

Korra was in a mood to go fast and break things. She flattened out the stone stairs for Naga to run down, and, holding Jinora and the precious book baskets tight, she raced her polar bear dog across the water, soaking the ferryman from head to toe with the waves they made.

"Now get on and shut up," Korra said, sticking Jinora on top of Naga and climbing on herself. "Naga usually only carries me. She'll eat you if you're annoying."

"OK," Jinora said. "Say, Korra, why do you want a book on astronomy?"

Korra turned around to glare at Jinora, who smiled earnestly. "Which way to the library, kid?"

"That way. Then left, left, straight for a few blocks, then left. You can't miss it."

"Go, Naga!"

"Yip yip!" Jinora said.

"I will knock you off this dog. No, I will crush your book baskets _and make you watch_."

Jinora was silent for the rest of the trip.

The library itself was fairly unimpressive, run down and clearly poorly maintained, although by the way Jinora squealed and jumped off of Naga you would think that they had arrived at the inner palace of the Northern Water Tribe. Resigned to her fate, Korra got off Naga and took her inside.

"Avatar exception," Korra sighed to the woman at the desk as her eyes widened in shock at the sight of a polar bear dog walking into the library. For her part, she seemed disinclined to argue with a woman with a bear dog for a pet.

Jinora motioned for Korra to follow her.

"How long is this going to take?"

"The library closes before dinner."

Korra moaned and followed listlessly as Jinora dragged her to the bookshelves. She pulled a book at random out of a shelf as they walked by. Upon seeing the miniscule text, she dropped it on the floor.

"I'm not reading any of this junk!"

"You're supposed to keep it down," a voice said. "And please don't drop our books."

Korra turned to see a thick, burly young man with bright green eyes and a teasing smile. "Avatar exception," she said.

Jinora gasped. "You _dropped_ a book!" She grabbed the fallen book off the floor, brushed the dust off, kissed it reverently, and jumped up to Korra's eye level to put it back on the shelf.

"Thanks, Jinora," the young man said. "Teach our Avatar some manners sometime, will you?"

"Sure thing, Mr. Bolin. How's the work going?"

"Good, good. Lately we've had a rash of book-droppers, but I know I can count on you to help me out." He winked, and Korra made gagging motions behind Jinora. Mr. Bolin ignored her. "What are you looking for today?"

"A book about firebending. And a book about a princess with a magical talking sword who lives on a boat. And…a few other things."

"Hm. Firebending…118. And magical talking princess swords…talk to me about that after I help your friend."

"Thanks, Mr. Bolin." Jinora walked elegantly to the end of the row of shelves and then darted out of sight.

Korra raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Bolin?"

Bolin shrugged. "My name is Bolin, but when I tried to get her to stop, she started calling me Mr. Just Bolin. So what brings you to our humble library, O Avatar?" He grinned. "Mako already told me you're taking lessons at the gym. Couldn't get enough of the famous bending brothers, could you?"

Korra blinked. "You're his brother?"

"Isn't the resemblance obvious?"

It wasn't. "You're famous?"

"In an…infelicitous sort of way."

"You make up words?"

"I don't 'make up' words." Bolin gestured at the books on either side of him. "I read them. Every book is like a different world, and their words fill me with the scintillating fire of wisdom and knowledge. Plus, I learn a bunch of neat words."

"So you steal the words that other people make up. How come you don't work at the gym like Mako?"

"The gym's not really my thing. I prefer the peace and quiet of the library."

"What do you do with all these books?" Korra asked.

"You're full of questions. I read them."

"What, all of them?"

"As many as I can. Why, what do you do with books, eat them?"

Korra decided he was joking. "Only the books they tried to make me study for Avatar training. History, spirit lore, that kind of stuff. Not so good-tasting."

Jinora's face popped over the top of the bookshelves. "She wants a book on astronomy!" she whisper-shouted before disappearing again.

Korra grabbed a book off the shelf and hoisted it. "The next time that kid shows her face…."

"Easy, easy." Bolin gingerly took the book out of her hand and returned it to the shelf. "Astronomy is…who is this?"

"Naga. She's my best friend. She's also a polar bear dog."

"Right. OK then. Take her and follow me…stop. Let me see…astronomy, astronomy. OK. This one." He handed her a thick book. "And this. A long, worn scroll fell into her hands. "Here. And here. This one has pictures. Ooh, this one is edited by Professor Unalaq. He's the expert—well, he's the expert on everything. And…."

"Stop!" Korra staggered under the weight of what felt like half the book shelf. "Just…where's a table?"

Bolin helped her get seated, and Korra let the books down with a sound like a small thunderclap as they hit the table. She glared at him, then rolled her eyes and opened the thinnest book. A moment later, she closed it and flung it aside.

"The writing is too small."

"The print you mean."

"The what?"

"Never mind. Try another."

Korra discarded another book for being too long ("That was Professor Unalaq's," Bolin said with a sad face) and a third she sent away unopened ("What's wrong with The Global Mythology of the Heavens?" Bolin asked. "Arnook is a world-famous expert."). Finally Bolin snatched the scroll, removed its binding, and spread it out in front of her.

Korra's eyes strained to make sense of a dizzying array of points, numbers and names connected by seemingly random lines, a thick swirl of confused blotted pieces on a crinkled parchment.

"I can't make heads or fins of this."

"It's a star chart. For navigation, originally." Bolin pointed at a line of numbers running across the top and bottom of the chart. "These tell you when the stars are here."

"They move?"

"The earth does. Haven't you ever seen a star chart before?"

"Arnook never let me go to the observatory. So what're these lines?"

"They're—wait, what? You know Arnook?"

"Yeah, he's super boring. What're these lines? And these other numbers by the names."

Bolin's mouth hung open. "But…Arnook…he's…even Professor Unalaq says he's…."

"Super boring? I had to take a bunch of lessons with him for years."

"You got lessons _straight from Arnook?_"

"Bolin!" the voice of the woman at the desk and Jinora's cracked simultaneously.

"Sorry!" Bolin lowered his voice, but excitement still ran through it like water churning under a thin layer of ice. "What's he like? What kind of things did he teach you?"

"How to Avatar, mostly. Bolin, focus. What're these lines?"

Bolin squeezed his cheeks and tried to concentrate. "They connect the constellations. Those numbers are their coordinates—their locations. And those names are just that: their names."

Korra stared at the chart as it slowly began to make sense in her head. She could see the pattern now, and the constellations were wrong, but she could find the right ones, the familiar shapes: a caribou moose, a polar bear dog, a breastbone, the burning torch, the old woman and the nieces and nephews, even the Murdered Man, and fixed in the center, The Star That Never Moves.

Korra breathed.

Exhaled. "It's wrong."

"Huh?" Bolin started, as if it had been a long time since she had spoken. "It's a relative map. It shows you where the stars are if you're a certain way on the earth. It's not exactly how they would look if you were just standing out in space somehow."

"Oh."

Korra stared at the map of the sky—

Very far away, at Southern Air Temple, the Air Acolytes who tended the temple, waiting for the return of the Air Nomads, were disturbed from their meditation and duties by a hum that started low and built to a piercing crescendo, an octave or more in harmony that sounded across the temple, and the young Acolyte who had been laboriously sweeping outside the Room of the Avatars swore that the edges of the door that only an airbender could open had glowed like the light of the moon.  
A man meditating against the back of a tree meters thick with roots running throughout the entire swamp blinked and opened his eyes. The vision of the wet dirt teeming with slow-moving worms and patient, unflagging insects had vanished without warning, replaced by the sight of a fire so vast and all-consuming that for a moment the man thought the whole swamp was on fire, and then he remembered that surrounding the fire had been an emptiness blacker than black, and he tried desperately to remember just what had been so important, not above the fire but north of it.

An ancient, white-bearded man who took his tea with a dragon by the side of a sleeping volcano trembled and nearly dropped the hot mug. The air smelled yellow, a familiar blend of turmeric and saffron, and the old man carefully set down the mug of tea. It was five minutes before he could pick it up again.

In the singular University of Republic City, a tall, dark-skinned man in a drab suit dropped the sloshing watering can into the pot's soil and nearly fell as he lunged for a pen and a scrap of paper with any space at all, and he swept half the books and scrolls off his desk and began to scrawl letters and numbers in furious path through and over the etchings that covered the page. Only much later, when night had fallen and he was alone in the entire building did think to check certain instruments—

—Jinora sneezed, and there came from behind the bookshelf the sound of a dozen heavy books falling to the ground.

"Korra?" Bolin's voice. "Korra?"

Korra's head snapped up, and something fragile crumbled in her mind, leaving a miserable sense of vacancy, an itch in the back of the mind like the feeling of having forgotten where shl.;e had left her favorite eating spoon, and it bothered her for days.

"Everything OK?" Bolin wore a look of bemused concern. "You looked awfully…intense, staring at the star chart like that."

Korra folded up the chart and put it to one side. "Get me another book," she said. "One with pictures."

Three hours later, Jinora was sitting in a corner with Bolin, a novel propped up between them. Earlier they had been drawing something and giggling a lot, which had been really annoying especially when they tried to be quiet and then ended up laughing even harder. The results lay beside them in a stack. A steadily growing pile of books obscured Korra's face. The silence stretched over the dusty interior of the library, punctuated only by the occasional question like:

"What's radiation?"

"Little things shoot out these even littler things that make you sick," Bolin answered.

"Huh." There was a rustling sound as Korra flipped the page. "How about, uh, a 'highly charged electrical and magnetic field'?"

"Basically the stuff lightning is made out of. Hard to explain. There are books—"

"Later."

"Korra likes reading," Jinora giggled.

Korra's face appeared as she shoved the books off the table and onto the floor. "Don't make me roast you, kid. Boiled airbender is sounding pretty good right now."

"Please stop throwing books onto the floor," Bolin sighed.

Jinora helped Bolin return the books to the shelves while Korra waited by Naga, complaining about the weigh of Jinora's book baskets.

"Thanks very much, Mr. Bolin." Jinora bowed by the door as they began to leave.

"You come back soon," Bolin said. "I can't read the next part of The Girl Who Bended With Fire without you. Korra, you too. We've got tons of books on—"

"No thanks."

"Then maybe we can get a bowl of noodles sometime. You talk like you're fresh off the boat. I can teach you how to be a hep city cat in no time."

"That would be nice," Korra said. "I can't understand half the things anyone says to me. Like what are noodles?"

"I know a great noodle place. Drop by around noon sometime and I'll take you on my Satocycle."

"Yeah," Korra said. It was pretty tough alternating between fighting and studying with nothing breaking up the cycle. She could use some fun. "Besides, I kind of want to learn how to ride on one of those things. Come on, Jinora."

Jinora's hands covered her mouth. She looked from Korra to Bolin and back with horror etched on her face.

"Satocycles are the tools of the ultimate being of Chaos," she whispered.

"Did your daddy tell you that?" Korra leaned down until her face was inches from Jinora and smiled wickedly. "He was right."

A fatigue hit Korra as they went outside, and she realized just how long she had spent sitting and reading of her own free will. She stretched and massaged Naga's shoulders and neck, letting out a long sigh. She felt lethargic and too tired to think. She'd have to work up some energy if she wanted to give Tenzin a good fight.

_I don't even think about winning anymore._

"Jinora?" she said tentatively as Naga carried them down the street. "Your dad teaches you and your siblings how to spar, right?"

"Of course. The physical side of airbending is as important as the spiritual—"

"Right, right. Uh. Any tricks for beating airbenders?"

"A battle between two airbenders is a battle of wits and outreading the opponent. Each airbender strives to misdirect the force of the other—"

"Never mind," Korra groaned.

They were both silent for several more minutes. Naga gradually picked up speed as they neared the water separating Air Temple Island from Republic City.

"If we're allowed to talk while riding Naga now," Jinora said, "I dreamed about you."

"That's nice," Korra said, not really listening.

"Just now, in the library, I mean. I wasn't sleeping exactly. But I can't think of a better word than dream."

"Everyone gets those. Visions or whatever."

"I was walking through a field of yarrow, and I saw you with Naga in the middle of a meadow. There weren't any flowers or animals or anything. Just you and Naga. And me watching you, I guess, but mostly just you and Naga."

"Uh huh. Doing what?"

"Nothing. Just standing there. Only, you looked really peaceful. Not like how you normally look."

Korra turned her neck to look at Jinora, one eyebrow raised. "And how do I normally look?"

Jinora wilted. "Uh, no, it's just that, you look kind of…busy. Like you're thinking about something or trying to get somewhere. I don't know. But I saw you with Naga sometimes and you look…not like that. More relaxed."

"Uh huh." Korra faced forward. "Jinora, you're a cute kid, but one of these days I'm going to freeze you in a block of ice and stick you underground for annoying the bearded whale out of me."

"I'll be quiet."

Feeling lethargic and wanting to energize herself, Korra let Naga swim with Jinora on her back across the ferry while Korra dived deep into the bay and then shot out like a clam dolphin, bending the water around her to propel her as fast as she could. By her count it took only five seconds to reach the shore of Air Temple Island, and she pounded her fists into the side of the cliff to keep her heart rate up while she waited. The ferryman watched placidly as Naga finished paddling across with Jinora.

"You're back," Tenzin said as they walked inside. Jinora directed Korra to put the book baskets on the table. She grabbed a book and a stack of sheets of paper held together with string and ran out of the room with them.

Tenzin frowned. "Was that a book?"

"Meelo, here's your firebender book!" Jinora called. "Ikki, Mr. Bolin made you a book. He drew it and everything. I helped. It's called Princess Singsong and the Talking Sword."

"Who is Mr. Bolin?" Pema asked. "That was very nice of him."

"He's a boy," Jinora answered from behind the wall. "He's Korra's friend. They're going to go eat together later."

"Oh really? A boy, you say?"

Jinora and Ikki's heads appeared around the corner. "Why does it matter if he's a boy?"

"Things that steal your karma," Korra snickered.

"So!" Tenzin said. "Korra, how was it?"

She rounded on him. "You. Outside. Now. Training."

* * *

"When you block like this," Tenzin moved his forearm against the inside of Korra's wrist and pushed out, "You use a lot of strength, and delay your own counter. But if you block like an airbender," Tenzin stepped, rotating his body, and he pushed Korra's fist away as his palm came around naturally, "With the slightest touch the opponent is thrown off course, and your own momentum is unchanged."

"Ok, I think I understand," Korra bounced lightly on her feet, finding her rhythm, then she stepped to the side and pulled her body around, her palm sliding forward to meet an invisible foe's strike.

"Too strong," Tenzin said. "Don't throw yourself into the turn. It should be a natural, smooth motion. You won't need a lot of force to make your opponent miss." Korra did it again. Tenzin nodded.

Korra wiped the sweat off her brow. She and Tenzin had been practicing in the grass for over two hours. "It's good to be finally learning some new moves. My fighting skills always stagnate about a year after I start learning a new element."

"And why is that?" Tenzin asked as Korra began a series of pivots that Tenzin had shown her, but she crouched lower and held her hands closer to her face, and she ducked and bobbed her head as she swayed, experimenting with fast, sudden jabs from different points in the motion.

"Learn it all," Korra grunted, picking up speed. "Then wait…two or three years…to become a master!" A fireball erupted out of her extended fist. Tenzin raised his eyebrows, but she seemed to like it, and released more fire with each strike.

"I won't delay you. When you are an airbending master, I will declare you as such."

Korra barely nodded, intent on her invisible foe. Tenzin continued. "But am I right in thinking you still can't airbend at all?" Another small nod. "Yet you could bend the other elements from a young age. Do you have any idea why airbending is proving unusually difficult for you?"

"I have no idea!" Korra erupted. Flames spilled from her hands, burst out of her back and shoulders. Tenzin had to produce a powerful gust of air to blow apart the spurt of fire that passed in front of his face.

Korra gasped. "Tenzin, I'm so sorry!" She looked around wildly at the radius of black grass that surrounded her. "I lost control—I didn't mean to—"

"Grass grows back, Korra," Tenzin said, rubbing his cheek where the fire had almost singed him. "As will my beard."

She looked stricken. "I'll fix the grass."

"It tends to fix itself, I've found." He frowned. "That, or it's the Air Acolytes. Let's go sit in the pavilion."

Korra flopped heavily on the hard stone floor. Her shirt was drenched in sweat, and she rolled up the legs of her thick pants. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I can't airbend!"

"No amount of mastery of the physical forms will help you move air, or anyone could become an airbender," Tenzin said calmly. "You need the mental attitude and spirit of an airbender. Remind me of what you told me before about the mental and spiritual states of water, earth, and fire."

Korra sighed. She was tired, not impatient. "Waterbending is about flow. You can't stay stagnant."

"And you do not hold still," Tenzin said. "You are always seeking to improve your fighting abilities, and you followed me from the South Pole to Republic City to learn airbending. That is why you can waterbend."

"I thought of it as me always going with the flow," Korra said, picking at something on her ankle. "I spent most of my life doing what everybody told me to do."

"You weren't exactly always obedient from what I heard," Tenzin said, but he was smiling. "Next is earth."

Korra got it. "Earth is about conviction. You plant your feet and face the problem head-on and unyielding. Like when I stood down the whole village and kept Naga."

"And when you made the decision to pursue your own destiny, even if it was not the will of your master," Tenzin said. "And fire?"

"Gratitude," Korra said. "And humility."

"And what are you grateful for?"

"Um. I never mastered this one. I guess I'm grateful for being the Avatar."

"Oh? Why are you grateful that you're the Avatar?"

"I don't know." Korra drew shapes into the stone floor with her finger. "I can't imagine anything else. I can't imagine a Korra who isn't the Avatar. It's what I am. It's everything. I wouldn't want to be anything else."

"Try to imagine," Tenzin said gently. "Imagine a Korra who isn't the Avatar. What is she like?"

Korra wiped a hand over the etchings, restoring the floor to its original shape. Then she started drawing new ones.

"Korra?" Tenzin asked after a minute had passed.

Korra looked up. "Huh?"

"I asked you to imagine a Korra who isn't the Avatar."

"Right."

"And?"

Korra's face was blank.

"Very well," Tenzin said. "Air then."

"Air is about freedom," Korra said in a monotone. "And freedom begins with acceptance. Only by understanding and accepting the external and internal reality can we find the point of greatest change."

"An airbender's greatest weakness is doubt and denial," Tenzin said. "An airbender must accept the reality even if that reality is unpleasant. Is there anything you struggle to accept?"

"…Yes."

"What?"

"You."

Tenzin's eyes widened as they heard a loud noise from the city like a ship's engine giving birth. In the distance a trail of smoke led their eyes to a tall building with a large hole carved out of it.

"That's Pajau Yan, the hospital!" Tenzin said. "What happened?"

"Perfect." Korra jumped to her feet. "Last one there is Aang's rotten guts."

"Korra, no!" Tenzin shouted, but she was already carrying the earth with her as she ran, whistling to Naga. She grabbed her dog and kicked off the edge of the cliff to the water below.


	7. The Pajau Yan Incident

Naga raced through the streets of Republic City, dashing between and occasionally over cars. Horrified citizens through themselves out of the way, screamed and grabbed their children, cowering in the wake of the Avatar and her monstrous dog.

"Special Avatar exception!" Korra shouted. "Please get out of the way!"

They followed the sirens. It wasn't long before they could see the remains of the fire in the distance again, a long black column of smoke rising up into the air that stood out even in Republic City's polluted sky.

Soon the building came into focus, a tall white construct, with the top half gouged out as if with a spoon, leaving a sharp, ridged crescent. Grey ash was still falling on a screaming crowd that surrounded the building, barely held back by a grey-and-black force of armor-clad metalbenders. Korra pulled a large path of earth out of the ground in front of them and extended it over the crowd of people. Before they reached the end Korra ran out of earth and Naga leaped, carrying them just past the metalbender blockade. She jumped off her polar bear dog and turned to an astonished metalbender.

"Where's Chief Beifong?" she demanded. "Hey—"

Something hard and metal grabbed her wrist and spun her around painfully. Korra looked up furiously into a pair of cold, dark green eyes.

"Avatar," Chief Beifong said. "Why am I not surprised to find you interfering?"

Korra tugged at her arm, but it didn't come free of the metal coil. "What's going on here?"

"None of your business," Beifong said. "Metalbenders, escort her away."

"Wait!" Korra said. "I'm the Avatar! Tell me what's going on. I can help."

"No, you can't." Beifong motioned to several metalbenders.

"Come along easy now, miss," one said, reaching out to grab her arm, but Korra pulled away.

"Keep your hands off me!" she shouted. "I'm the Avatar. Why won't you let me help?"

"Don't resist," the metalbender said. He lashed out with a metal cable. Korra caught it instinctively and tugged. Naga rushed forward with a roar—

"That's enough!" a deep voice commanded.

The metalbenders froze. Korra glanced over her shoulder. At first the approaching man appeared large, but as he came nearer Korra realized his blue clothes were thick and layered, obscuring his true form. His face was as dark as her own, leathered and tan, and from a distance she could feel a heaviness radiating from him, as if his body was made of dense stone.

"Shiro!" Beifong snapped. "What are you doing here? Who let you past the barricade?"

"Naturally I instructed your officers to let me through," Shiro said. His voice was deeper than any Korra had ever heard. It was a voice used to obedience. "I am here to inspect firsthand this catastrophe."

"That officer will be disciplined," Beifong said, grinding her teeth. "This is a police investigation. You and the—the girl will be leaving now."

"The girl?" Shiro looked at Korra as if he hadn't noticed she was there. "Ah, you must mean the Avatar." He bowed low. "A pleasure. I am Shiro, the Southern Water Tribe's Representative to the United Republic Council."

"You're from the Southern Water Tribe too?" Korra said excitedly, gleeful at how Shiro ignored Chief Beifong.

"Of course," Shiro said. "Why else do you think neither of us gets along terribly well with our dear Chief Beifong?"

Beifong cut in sharply. "Enough of this—"

"Chief!" an officer said, walking up to Beifong. "The preliminary investigation is complete."

"And?" Beifong said, tearing herself away from Shiro and Korra. She gestured at a pair of officers. "Keep an eye on those two."

"It looks like the work of an Equalist bomb, Chief," the grizzled officer said smartly. "There was an explosion just like the ones their bombs create."

"Equalist bombs don't create anything like the size of this damage, Captain Fong," Beifong said flatly. "And that crescent shape doesn't look right."

"Will all due respect, Chief, we investigated the crime scene and an Equalist bomb is the best guess," Captain Fong said.

"You have begun airbending training with Tenzin, I presume," Shiro said to Korra. "How is it going?"

"It's…all right," Korra said. "I'm picking things up slowly but surely."

"It looks like a bomb but it wasn't a bomb," Beifong said, as much to herself as to the captain. "No bomb would carve away half the building like this. Why would they go to all the trouble of planting it up so high? If it was an assassination a more targeted killing would be better and if the goal was terrorism, it would be easier to plant the bomb at the bottom."

"Then what was it?"

Beifong didn't answer.

"Of course, all of us in Republic City and the world over are eager for the Avatar to finish her training as soon as possible," Shiro said. "The world needs its Avatar, especially at a time like this." He gestured with a gloved hand at the wreckage.

"Tell me about it," Korra muttered.

"I have always felt that the Avatar's training is taken too slowly," Shiro continued. "Your predecessor, Avatar Aang, mastered all four elements in less than a year. Perhaps that is somewhat hurried, but I don't think it should take training from a young age until the age of twenty or so, don't you?"

"Chief Beifong, we're being radioed by an ambulance with emergency medical crew on the edge of the crowd."

"Dispatch a metalbender team to clear a path for all doctors and medical equipment," Beifong said instantly. She struck her foot hard on the ground. Korra grinned. Even the Chief sounded like everyone else.

"Something amusing, Avatar?" Shiro said.

"What? No," Korra said. "I, uh, I'm impressed by the Chief, that's all."

A black metal plate filled her vision. Beifong glared down at her, her green eyes narrow and angry.

"You, Avatar, if you touch any of my officers or get in the way of this investigation, I am arresting you myself," she said with barely concealed dislike.

"So tell me, Captain Fong, what you think caused this blast," Shiro said. "This is a most concerning incident."

"Councilman Shiro!" Fong said in surprise. There was a bronze crest on the breast of his metal armor and the top of his head was shaved. "It looks like an Equalist bomb."

"Yes, I suppose you're right." Shiro sighed heavily. "The Equalists have been voicing their dissatisfaction with the way the hospitals are run for some time. If only they hadn't resorted to violence and killing."

Beifong looked up sharply, brushed past Korra. "It wasn't Equalists. They don't have weapons like this. Shiro, don't bother my officers. Captain, have all the corpses been identified?"

"Perhaps they have new ones," Fong said darkly.

"And the corpses—"

"Some of them are too burnt to match faces to pictures. We're going through the records to see who is missing."

"What's an Equalist, anyway?" Korra asked loudly.

"I would be delighted to explain, Avatar," Shiro said. "Chief Beifong is quite busy dealing with this crisis. This is her specialty, and bringing balance in the aftermath of such a tragedy is yours. Why don't we go somewhere and talk?" The sense of solidity emanating from him intensified, and Korra almost found herself leaning forward to offset it.

"Sure." Korra glanced at Beifong, who disappeared inside the hospital.

"Then let's take this conversation away from this unruly mob." Shiro waved a hand at the horde of frightened and curious people barely held back by the metalbender force. Shiro walked forward without another word, the metalbenders rushing to lower their barriers for him, and Korra ran to catch up, Naga in tow.

A flash of red caught her eye. She craned her neck to see if it was Mako, but the figure was moving away, the red scarf disappearing into the crowd.

"Hey!" she called, but it wasn't Mako. Mako wasn't that thickset, didn't carry himself that way.

Shiro watched her eyes carefully. "Do you know that man?"

"Uh…no," Korra said. "I thought I saw my pro bending teacher."

Shiro's eyebrows rose. "The Avatar is learning mixed bending?"

"I need to learn modern styles," Korra said, forcing her gaze away from where the red scarf had disappeared towards Shiro's hard eyes. "And Tenzin thinks it's a good idea."

Shiro paused. "I have known Tenzin a long time," he said carefully, "And he does not seem like the sort of man who is very supportive of mixed bending."

Korra shrugged. "I guess I changed his mind."

Shiro nodded. "Well then, let us discuss matters elsewhere." And with that, he turned and cut a straight path toward the edge of the crowd.

Korra had to fight through the crowd of people, but Shiro moved as if they weren't even there. Whatever force he generated rolled through the crowd of people like a shark through a school of fish, and he moved through them as effortlessly as a waterbender through ice. Korra pushed and elbowed her way through the mass of people who crashed together in Shiro's wake, blocking their path. Naga took the lead, a thousand pounds of muscle, skin, and fat, and she pushed through the crowd almost as easily as Shiro. For their part the panicked crowd barely registered a giant polar bear dog shoving its way through.

Shiro waited for them at the edge of the crowd. He motioned, and she followed.

"Let us return to the question of the Equalists," he said.

Korra clenched her fists. "Who are they?"

"They are a radical, ideology-fueled terrorist group, as we have witnessed today."

Korra nodded. "I don't know what any of that means."

Shiro exhaled. "They are a group of people who believe insane things, and do many dangerous things as a result."

"Why would they attack a hospital?"

"Because they are insane," Shiro said calmly. His words carried the force of his presence. "They are non-benders who wish to rid the entire world of bending."

"What?" Korra gasped. "Rid the world of bending? That's crazy!"

"Indeed," Shiro said. "They claim that benders like us oppress non-benders, that we use our powers to abuse and rob them. They want everyone to be completely equal."

"Benders don't oppress anyone!" Korra said hotly. "Bending is a result of our connection to the natural world, where spirits and humans come together." Arnook had been emphatic on that point. "Getting rid of bending would be terrible. What would that even mean?"

Shiro did not answer for a while as they walked through what Korra belatedly realized was the Artisanal Quarters. It looked different during the day with fewer metalbenders on patrol. Shiro pointed to a closed rounded house.

"That is a forge, Korra," he said. "They smelt there. It is how iron is made. Iron is a craft material. Do you know much about smelting?"

"Not really," Korra said.

"The best weapons and armor comes from the Fire Nation," Shiro said. "It was a great advantage to them during the Hundred Year's War that Avatar Aang—that you—ended."

"Yeah, well..."

Shiro continued talking as if he hadn't heard her. "These days the best forged metal come from Republic City. Modern methods and metalbending techniques have surpassed what the forges in the Fire Nation can produce. And yet it is also true to say that the fire- and earthbenders who make the best forged metal in the world still maintain the ancient ways."

"Why are you telling me this?"

Shiro stopped walking. He looked off as if he was thinking deeply about something. "I believe I understand how the Equalists intend to rid the world of bending. Hiroshi Sato does not produce finer quality products than what the artisans here produce. But he is certainly faster."

He looked at her. "Perhaps you would like to meet some of the benders who work here." He walked on, beckoning with a finger for her to follow.

Suddenly he stopped, turned and stared directly at her. The full force of his...solidness focused her and multiplied, and Korra almost bended the earth around her feet to keep from stepping back.

"There is also a more literal possibility," Shiro said, his voice deep and powerful. "The Avatar has taken away someone's bending before."

"Energybending," Korra said.

"Indeed. Avatar Aang used energybending to strip Fire Lord Ozai of his bending and ended the war."

Korra thought she saw where Shiro was going with this. "I wouldn't use energybending to try to get rid of bending," she said.

"That is not what I had in mind," Shiro said. "Tell me, Avatar, have you ever considered the possibility of giving the power of bending to someone who lacked it?"

Korra's pulse quickened. "I hadn't. "Tell me, Shiro, how did you get to the hospital so quickly?"

"I commandeered a vehicle," Shiro said. "Crowds do not slow me down, as you saw."

"Uh huh."

"It is only a seed of a thought. Water it in your dreams, Avatar Korra. Who knows what it will grow to be?"

* * *

Lin clasped her arms behind her back and faced the semicircle of the Representatives to the United Republic's Council. Her armor was dark green, almost black, with a thin yellow border and metal-gray arms, the same color as her short, round hair. Two long, vertical scars marked her angular face. On the breast of her armor the gold crest of the Chief of Police shone. Her narrow green eyes showed little of the impatience and exhaustion she felt as they scanned over the members of the Council.

The full moon and a few dim lightbulbs were all the light the large room had. It cast an unhealthy glow on Qopuk's round face and owlish eyes, pompous in his light green robes. Too much knowledge in so cowardly a head. Oma's red, suspicious eyes glowing faintly. Oma certainly disliked her, but it was hard to identify anyone Oma didn't dislike. She might have made a good cop. Shiro, an enigma. She could feel his presence even from several meters away. His dark face betrayed nothing. Tarrlok, a worm and a true politician, who looked absolutely stupid with three ponytails. Tenzin...a ridiculous goatee. Enough said about Tenzin. A man devoted to his duties. He wore his blue arrow tattoos proudly, always conscious of his role as the only air-bending master in the world. Three children, all airbenders, another one on the way. He must be...satisfied. Not happy, but satisfied.

"The Council is convened to hear the report of the Chief of Police, Lin Beifong, regarding today's tragic event," Qopuk said, banging his gavel. The motion knocked his glasses askew. He nodded at her as he fixed them. "If you please, Chief Beifong."

"At approximately nine-thirty in the morning an explosion occurred on of the top floors of the Pajau Yan Hospital," Lin said. "We, the police, were notified soon after. We were not able to determine the precise nature or origin of the explosion. Fifty-two people were killed, including seven doctors and nurses, and there were an additional twenty-seven injured, including twelve with severe injuries. The names of the dead have all been identified, although not every corpse has a name attached to it yet. Pajau Yan and every other hospital in the city are being guarded by teams of metal-benders, and the damaged part of the building has been temporarily covered with metal so the hospital can continue—"

Oma cut in. "Who is guilty? You are the Chief of Police, and this is this question that most interests us, as well as the citizenry," she waved a hand, "Who can't seem to make up their minds as to whether they are too scared to step outside or whether they want to form a mob and tear the city apart looking for those responsible."

"We have no suspects." Lin didn't quite look at Oma. "We have no evidence that this was a planned attack."

"Oh, come now," Oma laughed. "What else could it have been? Were they storing explosives at a hospital?"

"Your Captain seems to believe Equalists carried out the attack with their bombs," Shiro said, his voice deep and heavy.

"The Equalists do not have bombs powerful enough to create such damage, nor does the damage resemble a bomb blast," Lin said as calmly as she could.

"Perhaps they have new bombs," Shiro said.

"But what would their motive be?" Tarrlok asked. "Why would anyone attack a hospital?" Lin had to keep herself from rolling her eyes.

"The medical system has always been one of the primary focuses of Equalist criticism," Qopuk said uncertainly. "Maybe as a symbolic attack?"

"No Equalist party has claimed responsibility for the crime, nor has any Equalist party ever endorsed indiscriminate murder as a means of achieving political goals," Lin ground out. "Nor would there be any reason to carry the attack out at one of the top floors rather than the ground level. Nor does the damage resemble that of a bomb blast of any degree of strength."

Oma inspected her nails. "So what do you think caused the explosion?"

She had to give them an answer, any answer. "Firebending," Lin said. "I don't know who or how or why," but the Council was already in uproar.

"You can't be serious," Oma snorted. "The damage certainly doesn't resemble firebending," Qopuk said. Tarrlok waved a hand, "Come now, Chief, be serious." Shiro said, "Who have you apprehended?"

Only Tenzin was silent, gazing intently at her. She knew he saw the tiredness and frustration she was hiding, and she hated him for it.

"Enough!" Shiro said, his deep voice powering over the noise. He looked at Lin. "Chief, arrest a firebender if you have a suspect. The city is crying for blood. A guilty party must be found."

"A scapegoat?" Qopuk gasped.

"The city needs security and answers, not a target for hatred," Tenzin said sharply.

Oma laughed. "Our Chief of Police refuses to believe the Equalists are responsible despite having the means and motive to carry this attack out. Instead, she has identified a phantom fire-bender as the guilty party. One almost begins to wonder where her sympathy lies."

"Li—Chief Beifong's loyalty is not in question!" Tenzin glared furiously at Oma. "It is only because they know Chief Beifong is on the case that the people of Republic City's response has been so calm."

Tarrlok cut in. "Captain Fong has had no trouble identifying a guilty party and the likely cause of the explosion." Words slipped out of his tongue as easily as if they had no weight at all. "Your inability to make sense of this case does not reflect well on your tenure, Chief Beifong."

_His answer is wrong. I don't have a better one. But his is wrong._

She didn't say that. It wouldn't be understood. It had taken Lin a long time to understand it, too long. Instead, she said, "I understand. I will solve this case." She set her jaw like iron. "Whoever did this will not get away."

"Very well, Chief Beifong, I think that is all we need for now," Qopuk said, adjusting his glasses. Oma hid her mouth behind her hand, not actually managing to conceal her smile. Qopuk banged his gavel. "This meeting is adjourned."

Lin turned smartly and walked away. She could feel Tenzin's pitying gaze burning her back, and the sound of Oma's mocking laughter followed her through the hall.

Inside her mind, the entire Council was locked up for the crimes of stupidity, venality, short-sightedness, and arrogance, right next to the Equalists and everyone else who disturbed the peace of her city.

And as for the perpetrators of this attack...

...She would encase them in a container of iron, forgotten in the bottommost level of the underground prisons until all the iron in the world had rusted away to dust.

* * *

The ferry slid over the black water, carrying Jie Ming to the shore of Republic City. She stumbled off and dragged herself up the bank. Head bowed low, she almost didn't notice the dark figure out the corner of her vision approaching her. As soon as it was near, she ducked down and rushed in, pushing one wrist down, stepping around its legs, grabbed the other wrist and pulled it around—

"Jie Ming!" Kenji's panicked voice said. "It's me!"

"I'm too tired to break your arm," Jie Ming said. She released his wrist. Then she fell forward, resting her head on his chest.

"Don't," she said as his arms came around her back. "We could be seen. They'll know I'm..." But saying it would have been just as dumb.

"We'll just tell them we're lovers," Kenji said. "They'll believe that."

Jie Ming pushed away, and he let her go. "We have to get moving."

"Why did you come here?" Jie Ming said as they walked through the streets.. "It was risky."

"I haven't seen you in a while," Kenji said. "Not since the bombing, actually."

Jie Ming took a few seconds to answer. "It's been a rough few days."

"Which is why I wanted to surprise you."

"Some surprise. I nearly killed you."

"Nearly. Which is fortunate, because we're going to a rally."

Jie Ming sighed. "Kenji, I appreciate it, really, but I just need to get home to my brothers. Someone's been letting them listen to that idiot on the radio, and now they're convinced there's going to be another bombing any second. And they're even more scared of being attacked on the street because they're Equa—let go of me!"

"Whoa, whoa, relax," Kenji said, backing away with his hands raised. "I know things have been tough. That's why I want you to see this. Equalists have been organizing. It's what we do. There's going to be a meeting tonight to discuss how we're going to deal with this."

Jie Ming started walking away. "Didn't you hear me? My family needs me."

"I took care of it, actually," Kenji said. "I knew you'd be like this. I pulled some strings, traded some tokens, moved around some names on some schedules. Spent a little money, even."

Jie Ming stopped and stared at him in disbelief. Slowly a smile broke out over her face. "You rich bastard."

Kenji shrugged. "I figure if I use the oppressor's tools to fight the oppressor, it's okay. Anyway, this is money I earned with my writing. I give my money parents send me to the cause." He grinned. "I don't think they know."

Jie Ming walked over to him and placed her hand on his arm. "I should've broken your arm. So where are we going?"

"It's not far. We'll get there in time if you quit dragging your feet so much, lazy."

They winded their way through the alleys, hands clasped in the darkness. Kenji's rough, callused fingertips were proof that he was a writer, and they felt good against the back of her hand. Before long, hidden in the depths of Republic City, a large building loomed. During the day it was used as cheap mass storage. The property was owned by an Equalist sympathizer, and he had suggested that it be used as a site for large rallies. The thick walls masked bright lights and the sounds of hundreds of excited Equalists. Their hands separated.

By the door a thickly built man wearing a menacing expression leaned against the wall. Kenji raised a fist as they walked up, and the large man glanced at Kenji's face, held up a fist and pulled the door open. Kenji let Jie Ming through first and followed her inside.

The inside of the building was even larger than Jie Ming had expected. Brightly lit with large lights from the top and lights by the stage, illuminating a single microphone. Jie Ming couldn't tell how many Equalists were there, hundreds or thousands, she had never seen so many people together in one place before, and her heart soared at the sight of the Equalist movement so proud and strong. At the same time the sound was deafening, and she didn't hear Kenji when he spoke.

"I said, let's try to get closer!" he shouted into her ear. "They're starting soon!"

She nodded, and they pushed their way through the crowd, down a level to a wing near the stage. She could see people with cameras at the very front by the stage. So this was going to be publicized, at least a part of it.

"This okay?" he shouted, and she nodded as the lights went out. For a moment darkness brought silence, and then the stage lights lit up, and a tall man walked out towards the microphone. His back was straight and his body clearly strong and agile, although not bulky, and his black mustache hung down on either side of his face like two barbels on a catfish.

"That's Yu Lin!" Kenji whispered. "He's done all sorts of incredible things. If even half the rumors are true..."

"He looks like a soldier," Jie Ming whispered back.

Kenji nodded.

"Thank you all for coming, comrades," Yu Lin said, the microphone carrying his rough voice throughout the enormous room. His voice wasn't as deep as Jie Ming had expected. He sounded calm and tempered, a measured man in firm control of himself. "A few days a terrible tragedy occurred." His voice was gentle but not soft; it was strong and steady, the voice of a man who had lost friends before. "I know many of us here lost someone important. Equalists stick by their own. Of course, the Council is blaming us."

An angry murmur rose. Yu Lin continued. "Of course the Equalists were no responsible. We do not murder or destroy."

"These last few days have been extremely difficult." Yu Lin said. "Egged on by the warmongering on the radio and the rhetoric of the Council, benders and non-benders attack Equalists in the street, smash our homes and buildings, while the police turn a blind eye. I thought we would hold a service for the departed. And I thought we would have speakers talk about how to respond to the wave of anti-Equalist sentiment that will sweep this city. But something else happened.

"We captured the people who committed this crime."

Shock, confusion, triumph.

"Did we really?" Jie Ming said to Kenji above the noise.

Kenji looked just as confused as she felt. "I guess so. If anyone could pull it off, it's Yu Lin."

Yu Lin held up his hands, and the noise died down. "We have them behind this stage." He turned and directed his voice towards the back. "Bring them out."

Several Equalists emerged pushing a group of bent-over men, their hands tied behind their backs. The flashes and clicks of cameras went off as a great cry rose up. The men were dragged to the front of the stage where they were illuminated by the lights. They wore the city clothes of non-benders and young benders alike. The man in front was grizzled, with a strong jaw, and three white streaks ran through his grey hair. He wore a red scarf patterned in gold around his neck.

"This is 'Lightning Bolt' Zolt, head of the Triple Threat Triad!" Yu Lin cried above the crowd's roar. "And his top lieutenants, whom we have captured!"

The crowd's roar reached a peak, and Yu Lin held up his hands again as the noise died down.

"I understand your anger, and vengeance will be had," Yu Lin said. "But first listen to me as I explain how this crime happened.

"Several weeks ago the Triple Threat Triad carried out an assassination attempt against a rival gang leader. They failed to kill him, but he was put in the Pajau Yan Hospital. Naturally, Zolt wanted to finish him off, but he would be the obvious suspect. By targeting a large section of the hospital, and by creating a large explosion, they masked the motive of their crime and successfully fooled the police into blaming the Equalists."

Another angry roar, shorter this time. Yu Lin waited for it to end.

"And how did they create such damage?" His voice grew in passion and anger. "With a method the police would never suspect. Lightning Bolt Zolt is a lightningbender!"

"Lies! All lies!" the man with white streaks in his hair shouted, but he was drowned out by the crowd. Jie Ming saw his golden eyes, wide but unafraid, and she knew that he was a lightningbender.

Yu Lin shouted above the noise, "The rumors are true. Lightningbending exists, and Zolt is one of them. With a blast of lightning he attacked the hospital, destroying half the building, killing his target and dozens of innocents!"

"Soon Zolt will reveal his lightningbending," Yu Lin shouted. "He will show the Hantu Raya!"

The crowd's murmur started again, excited and confused.

"The Hantu Raya?" Kenji shouted. "I know a lot of Equalists talk about it—I've seen the offerings myself—but what do you think he means?"

Jie Ming shook her head mutely, locked on Zolt's golden eyes.

Yu Lin stepped aside and knelt on one knee, head down. A dark shape emerged from where the Equalists had brought the gangsters—

a gasp rose from the crowd—

Zolt's gold eyes widened in shock—

Jie Ming's eyes hurt so badly she thought they were on fire, stabbed, ripped out—

A tall figure walked forward. A long brown cloak covered its entire body, thick and billowing, masking the figure beneath, which could be large or small, male or female, and the face was covered with a pale mask the color of bone, marked only by a large red circle at the forehead. It stepped up to the front of the stage, and a hushed silence descended.

"Rise, Yu Lin," it said in a voice that was both male and female or perhaps something else altogether. Yu Lin rose and stood behind Zolt.

The masked figure's gaze swept over the spellbound crowd. Jie Ming thought for a moment its gaze rested on her before passing on.

"I am the Hantu Raya," it said. No one spoke a word. "Some of you have heard of my coming. I am here to bring balance."

"For a long time bending was a sign of balance between man and spirits. But man has changed. Man has grown arrogant. This city has transformed bending from a tool to commune with the spirits into a weapon to violently attack each other and to oppress those without bending. In the aftermath of Zolt's assassination, many of you have experienced their violence firsthand."

"A great spirit, whom you now know as the Avatar, became a man in order to ensure balance between man and spirit. You have heard that the Avatar has arrived in Republic City. You have heard her speeches. You know he is young. You know she is ignorant. You see that he is surrounded by the Council and the police, and as long as she has their ear he will never listen to you."

The great raya's voice grew louder. "The Avatar cannot bring balance this time. Republic City itself is the source of imbalance. Benders oppress non-benders, rich oppress poor, the old oppress the young, and nature is spat on, despoiled, and cruelly imitated. The Avatar is a bender and a man, and she too will fall prey to the perversions of the city."

"I have come to bring balance," the Hantu Raya said. "But there can be no return to the old ways. Man has changed. Bending is no longer a source of balance and harmony. Therefore. I will rid the world of bending. This power has been granted to me by the Communion of the Great Spirits."

"The murderer Zolt will be the first."

"This is absurd!" Zolt shouted. He turned to the crowd. "This is no spirit. There's a person behind that mask!"

No one answered him. Jie Ming felt a heaviness descend, a coldness emanating from the Dark Spirit.

"Untie him," the Hantu Raya said. Yu Lin leaned down and removed Zolt's bindings.

"Rise, Zolt."

Zolt stood warily, glancing around at the Equalist soldiers who surrounded him.

"What's the meaning of this?" he said. "What's the big idea?"

"Enough, Zolt," the dark figure said. "You will show the world your lightningbending, and then I will take it from you."

"You're out of your mind!" Zolt said. "There's no such thing as lightningbending, and I didn't attack that hospital!"

The masked figure didn't answer. The coldness emanating from it spread and intensified. Fear gripped Jie Ming's heart, and the terrible pain in her right eye swelled, but she didn't move, didn't speak.

"F-fine!" Zolt shouted. The coldness was affecting him too. "I'll show you lousy Equalists why you should be scared of benders!" Even as he spoke he swung a fist at the the masked figure, but nothing came out. He stared at his fist in shock.

"I asked for lightning, not fire, murderer," the Hantu Raya said. "This is your last chance before I remove your bending permanently."

Zolt stepped back. "You asked for it!" he said. "You're right, I am a lightningbender. And you're about to learn why we're so feared!"

His arms came around in two semicircles in front of his chest. The air crackled and blue electricity danced around his hands. Cameras flashed.

"He is a lightningbender!" Kenji gasped. Jie Ming barely heard him, mouth agape, intent on the scene in front of them.

Zolt stepped forward, his right hand coming up slowly, the lightning crackling, and suddenly his hand shot out, two fingers extended, and a brilliant blue streak of lightning lanced toward the cloaked spirit. Just before it reached the masked figure Zolt cried out, and the lightning bolt faded. Zolt collapsed, writhing and screaming, lines of blue electricity crawling over his body.

"As you can see," the Hantu Raya said, "Zolt is a lightningbender. Yu Lin."

Yu Lin picked Zolt up with his gloved hands and held him upright. The Dark Spirit approached. The arm of its cloak fell over Zolt's face. A moment passed in complete silence. Then the figure withdrew the arm of its cloak. Zolt's eyes were unfocused and wild, and Yu Lin allowed him to fall to the floor.

"His bending is gone forever," the Hantu Raya said. The crowd of Equalists roared in fear, awe, and triumph.

"Bring the rest of them to me," the spirit said, and the Equalist soldiers dragged the panicked, begging gang members over to the masked figure.

"Republic City has declared war on the Equalists," it said. "And today, the Equalists have obtained the power to fight back. Today, the Equalist Revolution has begun."

"I can't believe it!" Kenji hugged Jie Ming. "The spirits are on our side, and they can take people's bending away!"

Jie Ming hugged him back, her heart leaping with joy and her stomach twisting with fear. One thought circled round and around in her head.

_Avatar Korra, did all this happen because of you? Was this your fault or mine?_

* * *

"Jinora! Jinora!"

Someone was poking her. Jinora opened her eyes. "What, Ikki?"

"I had a bad dream."

"Me too!" Meelo said.

Jinora slid over tiredly. "Get in."

Her younger siblings crawled underneath the blanket and clutched their sister tight.

* * *

Tenzin was meditating outside when Korra returned to the island riding on Naga. It was long since night, and Tenzin was only an outline in the darkness.

"Tenzin?" Korra called uncertainly. "Hey, I'm back.?

Tenzin looked up. "Oh. Korra. I'm glad your back. I heard your speech today. It was broadcast on the radio and reported in the newspapers."

Korra smiled. "Well, it just kind of happened, but—"

"I only regret that I was busy dealing with the aftermath of the explosion and did not have the foresight to realize just how much trouble you could get yourself into," Tenzin said. "Go to bed. We will talk in the morning."

Confused and tired, Korra didn't argue, just sighed and headed for her room. She stopped and looked back at him. "Aren't you going to bed too?"

"I will meditate a little longer. You could say that I want to see if my father is available."

"Uh..." Korra yawned again. "Well, good luck. If he doesn't show up you can always talk to me."

"Go to bed, Korra."

An hour later, Korra lay awake. She looked outside, but the sky here was blank nothingness, and she couldn't tell the time.

_"I'm the Avatar!" Korra declared in front of the crowd. "Whoever these Equalists are, they won't get away with what they've done. I'm here now, I've seen what's going on in this city, and I promise you I will fix it!"_

_Huge cheers, the flash and click of cameras going off, microphones being thrust in her face, a dozen different questions at once._

_People in long, colorful robes, of this and that ancient bending family, pulling at her, introducing themselves, and a dozen metalbenders keeping everyone away, sent by Chief Beifong once Korra's speech had been broadcast to "protect the Avatar," although it was pretty obvious that they were keeping everyone away, dangerous or not. Korra had ditched them in no time, not that she wanted to talk to a bunch of old and rich people._

_Jie Ming getting off the ferry as Korra arrived. She looked tired and scared. Impulsively, Korra touched her arm._

_"I heard you on the radio," Jie Ming said._

_"Everything's going to be fine," Korra said. "I'm the Avatar, and I'll get the people who did this. You don't have to be scared of anything, Jie Ming."_

Enough of this. Korra got out of bed and walked down the hall on exhausted legs. A noise from the kitchen. She crept gingerly towards it.

"Oh, hello, Korra," Pema said, stirring something inside a cup. Her face was mostly obscured in shadow. "I'm glad you're back. Are you going to sleep?"

"In a bit," Korra said. "Everything okay?"

Pema nodded. She gestured toward the outside. "I'm afraid my husband is still meditating outside."

"What, really? He really is talking with Aang!"

"Is that what he said?" Pema took a sip from the cup. "Want some tea?"

"No, thanks," Korra said. "Um...are you sure you're okay?"

Pema's fingers tapped against the cup. "Nothing like this has ever happened before. And the things people are saying..."

"Pema, don't worry. I'll take care of this. That's why I'm here, training with Tenzin."

Pema only looked out toward the darkness where her husband meditated and didn't speak again.

After another minute Korra excused herself and walked outside toward where Tenzin sat on a smooth surface of stone, one leg laid on top of the other and his hands resting on his knees. He didn't respond as she neared him, and she sat down next to him, putting one leg on top of the other, resting her hands on her knees.

She was the Avatar. This is why she existed. And she needed to be able to airbend, now.

It was time to talk to Aang.

Above the island the silver moon shined brightly. Miles away, Lighting Bolt Zolt, the golden-eyed lightningbender, slumped to the ground, a bender no more.


	8. Gathering Clouds

Masked men and women burst through the doors of the temple, all wearing white masks with a single red circle at the forehead. They head straight for the idols, shoving terrified priests out of their way.

"Tear the idols down!" shouts a woman who is not their leader.

The masked invaders hurl down the stone statues. The smaller wooden idols are trampled. The paper dolls are torn apart. Drinks smashed on the ground. Bowls of food kicked over. Candles snuffed.

The woman digs her fingers into the stone around the eyes of the tallest stone idol of a fearsome tiger's face with the body of a man. Unbelievably, impossibly, she tears out the stone eye.

"Shangdi is Supreme!" she shouts, holding up the eye. "The flood of Heaven is upon us!"

EXPLOSION AT PAJAU YAN HOSPITAL  
EQUALISTS CAPTURE, ACCUSE TRIAD LEADERS  
HAVE THEY REALLY BEEN "DE-BENDED?"

Wet pavement, gray skies.

Pema had worked a miracle, finding at the last minute a dress for Korra to wear, a navy blue straight-down thing, elegant and understated, which Korra had refused, saying she wanted to be able to leave as soon as it was done. Tenzin waited for her outside, wearing the yellow robe and orange cloak of an air-bending monk. The blue arrow tattoo on Tenzin's head, the only one like it in the world, pointed down at at a somber face.

"Ready to go?" he said as Korra stepped out. "Korra, I hope you don't mind leaving Naga here."

"No, it's fine" Korra said. "Let's go already."

Tenzin noticed her expression. "You won't be asked to say much. Please don't improvise."

"I've already said what I need to. All that matters now is smashing the Equalists."

MASKED "DARK SPIRIT" AT EQUALIST MEETING  
EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS INSIDE  
WHAT IS THE TRUE IDENTITY OF THE ENIGMA?

Mako wound his red scarf around his neck. "I'm going out for a newspaper."

Bolin looked over in surprise, a piece of toast hanging out of his mouth. "You're wearing red?"

"Today more than ever."

ACCUSATIONS FLY IN THE AFTERMATH OF TRAGEDY  
POLICE SAY EQUALISTS MOST LIKELY CULPRIT  
COMMENTS FROM THE COUNCIL INSIDE

Asami winced as the servant zipped up her black dress.

"You look wonderful, ma'am," she assured her.

"That's not important on a day like this," Asami said more sharply than she had intended.

"Of course, ma'am," the servant said, taken aback.

Asami walked down the hall to her father's office. She knocked twice on the large oak door.

"Daddy, are you ready to go?"

The door opened. A large, bespectacled face with a mustache stretching around his cheeks down around his chin, peered at at her.

"Yes, I am," he said, opening the door fully. He wore a black suit with sliver buttons and little trim or embroidery.

"How do I look?" he asked, gesturing at his large belly.

Asami pinched his arm. "That's not important on a day like this."

LIGHTNING BENDING: DOES IT EXIST?  
"YES." "NO."  
EXPERTS WEIGH IN

_Dear Tenzin,_

_What is going on in Republic City? We have received news of the bombing at the South Pole from the merchant ships. Is the Avatar safe? Please let me know what the situation is. Do you need more White Lotus sentries? Should I come take the Avatar back to the South Pole? I will defer to your judgment, Tenzin since you know much more about the situation than I do, but please keep me informed and do not hesitate to call on me or the White Lotus in order to protect the Avatar._

_Stay safe,_

_Arnook_

EQUALISTS ATTACK TEMPLES THROUGHOUT CITY  
COUNCIL PROMISES STRONG RESPONSE  
AUTHORIZES CREATION OF TASK FORCE

Wet cotton, damp lips.

A foggy picture of an unsmiling face.

Hands folded over chest, head tilted north.

Gatherings, condolences, packets of money.

Fires, pinches of salt, gathered bones.

Silk. No red. Do not bring it home. Stuff it with cotton and gauze. Bury in silence.

Remove all mirrors from your house.

An alter, a stone monument at the center, for burning incense and a single lit white candle. Tea, rice and water.

Wailing, yellow and white to drive off the evil spirits.

The spirits.

Cover their faces with red paper. Burn the ghost money. Say the words.

Anicca vata sankhara.

Na mo a mi tuo fo shin di.

Four plates of fruit. A cup of wine for Shangdi.

A new name. A cup of wine for Shangdi.

Waiting for rebirth.

The last offering of wine for Shangdi. Drink, spirit, fill your stomach full.

So that what is given here may benefit the dead.

56 DEAD, 23 INJURED IN VIOLENT BOMBING  
HOSPITALS UNDER METALBENDER GUARD ACROSS CITY  
MEMORIAL SERVICE IN CENTRAL SQUARE

Gray skies, reflections of the damp cobblestone. Empty white coffins line a certain street. A procession of elderly bender in the colors of their ancestral nations, muted and dark, except for fire-benders, who wear dark brown. Their children and the non-benders of the city wear black or faded, grey suits, the women in dark dresses and jackets. Only one wears red, a scarf wound tightly about his neck, as he pushes his way against the crowd. He draws furious glares that slide off him as easily as a deflected fireball in the heat and chaos of a street fight.

A white marble stage has been bended up in the middle of the square. On it sit the five members of the Council. To the right of Tenzin is a girl in blue whom few would have recognized yesterday, although by now the pictures have spread throughout the city. Few suspect she is the Batbender, though the few that have are the sort that do not need such connections drawn for them by others. She is the Avatar, and she fidgets as she waits.

By the Avatar sits the Chief of Police, who taps her foot rhythmically. They do not look at each other. Up to the stage walks a rotund man with a large mustache. His dark suit looks expensive, and he carries himself with the confidence of a self-made man. Next to him is a beautiful young woman in a somber black dress. Her face exudes grief and compassion, and they take their seats on the stage next to Tarrlok the Councilman, watched out of the corner of the Avatar's eye. Like the young woman, Tarrlok's face is a carefully composed expression of sorrow and understanding, although his sincerity is less certain. A number of other men and women in flowing white robes and wearing magatama sit farther down, priests and sages with much knowledge of the spirits.

The citizens of Republic City gather in the square, bender and non-bender standing side-by-side, though not necessarily together. A dull buzz spreads, a muted roar, and then Tenzin stands up and walks to the microphone. The noise diminishes as they wait for the Council to tell them that they are safe and who is guilty, for their spiritual leaders to make sense of a world where madmen bomb hospitals.

Some of these people are poor, and some of these people are rich.

Some of these people are born to ancient, important families, with property, connections, and wealth. Others left their parents behind if they ever had any at all.

Some of them worship and fear the spirits, and some do not. Of those who do not, many make a show of doing.

Some of them are benders and some of them are not. The Avatar is aware of the distinction but does not understand it.

Foreboding grey skies grow heavy with Republic City's runoff and blacken on the diet of filth.

Republic City's is teetering off balance, and the Avatar knows nothing.

* * *

Musei Tokugawa leaned his feet up on the small desk and pulled the microphone to his lips.

"Action. That's what we all want. For our leaders to do something. The Council is blaming the Equalists. Fine, arrest their leaders! Do _something_. But this indecision is killing our city! The longer this goes on without an arrest, the longer everyone has to live in fear of another attack. What are they going to bomb next? The pro bending arena is a huge target, and Equalists have made it clear how they feel about pro bending. The timidity the Council is displaying emboldens the terrorists and leaving innocent citizens trembling in fear!

Musei glanced at his notes. He had to work in that recommendation somehow.

"...No, the attack against the hospital wasn't an attack against benders. Mostly non-benders were killed. It was an attack on our city, our laws and way of life, and the Equalists don't care who they hurt to get what they want. This is a dark time for the city, and when it's dark in my house, I know to rely on VarrickBrights to shed light on matters. Only VarrickBrights do the job..."

Four minutes left. Musei went on speaking.

* * *

"…Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned," Tenzin says.

"That is a quotation from the writings of the former Fire Lord Zuko after he abdicated the throne. It is a lesson the Fire Lord learned from experience, as did I."

Tenzin sits and a number of the sages and priests stand and approach the front of the stage. They appear ethereal in their white robes, and they hold incense, salt, and a stone basin of water. They rub the salt around the stone basin and dip their hands in the water. Then each claps their hands loudly. Then they begin to speak.

They speak the flow of the universe, of the inherent circularity of nature, the demonstrations and products of virtue. They speak of action without action, of the necessity of placing one's will within the harmony of the universe. They speak of the human spirit. They point out that universal harmony requires dark as well as light, that the universe is constantly recreating itself through the Four Phases, that nothing is truly lost.

The way is ineffable, they say. Greatness is achieved through small things.

They recommend sacrifices of food, of diyu-_jiangs_. They recommend mastery of internal alchemy, the development of positive karma.

They dance, chant, pray, to Shangdi, to Meng Po and Koma-inu, to the Tenjin, prayers for the dead, that they may not become tormented ghosts, for blessings in life.

The men and women of the city stare at them in silence.

Then, having explained nothing, the priests and sages sit down. From the crowd, anger rises.

WHO WAS "LIGHTNING BOLT" ZOLT?  
TRIAD KINGPIN, LIGHTNINGBENDER, MURDERER?  
AN INVESTIGATIVE REPORT

**Two images, now famous, imprinted on the memory of Republic City forever. The first, "Lightning Bolt" Zolt bending something in front of the enigmatic "Dark Spirit," something that can't clearly be identified as lightning but definitely isn't fire.**

**The second picture: Zolt kneeling before the "Dark Spirit," eyes wild and unfocused. Equalists have distributed this photo around the city, declaring it proof that Zolt has lost his bending. Now the questions everyone's asking are: Who was Zolt? And where is he now?**

**Zolt's beginnings are unclear. He is not on the list of names of any of the birth records in Republic City, meaning that, like many of us, Zolt was most likely born in one of the Nations and came to the city later in life. Despite being an immigrant, Zolt quickly mastered Republic City's underground, using a combination of guile, charisma, strategy, and bending prowess to rise to the top of one of Republic City's many gangs. Under his lead, the Triple Threat Triad became one of the major and most dominant criminal organizations, controlling large underground networks, monopolizing the black market on forgeries in particular, specializing in official documents, such as extremely valuable permits for trading and moving goods in and out of Republic City. **

**An innovator with an eye for future trends, Zolt pioneered the integration of the benders in his forces. In turf battles his combined fire, water, and earthbender forces crushed their less cohesive enemies. The Triple Threat Triad's modern tactics proved irresistible. Zolt himself is credited with inspiring pro bending techniques, as many of the city's best pro benders came up from involvement with violence and gangs in their youths. Rumors have it that Zolt himself helped found professional bending, even coming up with the original idea himself. True or false, there can be no doubt that Zolt was heavily involved in professional bending, gambling, fixing matches, controlling professional benders through financial debts.**

**At their peak the Triple Threat Triad had its fingers in every aspect of Republic City life, from sports to business and even politics. Perhaps only the incredible efforts of Chief of Police Lin Beifong, daughter of the world's first metalbender, Toph Beifong, kept Zolt in check, evidenced by Zolt's repeated efforts to get her removed. How such a powerful man, surrounded by his guards, could have been captured by the Equalists is a mystery, and Equalists aren't talking.**

**Was "Lightning Bolt" Zolt a lightningbender, as his nickname suggests? For years rumors about him being a lightningbender multiplied, and Zolt certainly encouraged the image, readily adopting his moniker and making only the vaguest denials of lightningbending. The name "Lightning Bolt" may have initially referred to the three distinctive white streaks running through his hair or to the destructive and fast-paced strategies he employed in turf wars.**

**The royal family of the Fire Nation, which has denied the existence of lightningbending for over a century, although earlier records indicate that the royal fire-benders at least claimed the power of lightningbending, has not responded to the claims that Zolt was a lightningbender.**

**While the Triad appears to be on the decline, having lost its leadership, Zolt's influence on the city cannot be understated. In the aftermath of the terrible and feared crime lord Yakone's downfall, Zolt became the preeminent criminal of Republic City, a city as famous for its underground as its advanced technology and professional bending. His charm and charisma won him adoration and earned him meetings and connections with some of the wealthiest and most powerful citizens of Republic City, and the aura of mystery that surrounded him turned him into a legend even as he gambled, blackmailed, and killed. His rough intelligence and unique golden eyes gave him a sort of grandeur even as a criminal that few in the city could emulate.**

**...**

**Lightningbender or no, the entire city wants to know, where is Zolt now, and has he really lost his bending? Zolt disappeared after his capture by the Equalists, who say they released him onto the streets after taking his bending, and he has yet to surface. Where is the golden-eyed gangster who captured the imagination of the city? Was lightningbending ever a reality, and has it now been lost to the world? Only one man can answer these questions, but even after metalbenders combed the city, Zolt has not been found...**

Mako crumpled the newspaper, burning it into ash.

* * *

"What are you going to do about the Equalists?" someone shouts.

"Who's going to protect us?"

The cries thickened. "You should have prevented this!" "My children can't sleep at night!" "What if there's another attack?"

The metalbenders tense, but the crowd makes no move yet. It is a mob, and until someone directs it it has no net inertia...

...Thinks Professor Unalaq, watching from a distance.

Tarrlok's face is taut with barely-controlled fury, the grimace of a mother bear dog. Somehow it seems as if he privately agrees with everything the crowd is saying.  
Oma is checking the red dye on her nails for imperfections. Qopuk is flustered, stammering, as if he thinks to actually answer all the questions that explode out of the crowd like radioactive particles. Shiro is…inert. The good Chief of Police Lin Beifong is tapping signals to her guards. And Tenzin the last airbender is trying to restrain Korra without being seen doing so.

He fails. Korra stands and walks to the microphone.

"Hello," she said, but her lips were too close to the microphone, making her voice jump out and distorting it. She pulled back an inch.

"Hello," she said again. "I'm the Avatar."

* * *

The crowd's noise faded away. Korra felt a thrill. She _was_ the Avatar, and it seemed that most people who weren't metalbenders still remembered the respect she was due. "I was born and raised in the South Pole. I spent sixteen years there training to be your Avatar."

"I haven't been in Republic City for very long. I came here to master airbending with Tenzin."

Now what? Arnook had said that it would be her job to provide spiritual and moral guidance, to heal what could not be healed by any other's hands. What did that mean here?

"I didn't lose anyone in this attack. I was lucky. I, I'm so sorry for all of you who have lost someone."

"I don't know much about this place yet, but it's clear that—that Republic City has a lot of problems. This city is out of balance, and—I'm here to put things straight.

"That means stopping the Equalists. I'd like the help of the police. But I'm willing to do it myself."

Korra started at the applause. She had planned to say something more, now that seemed unnecessary. She faced the crowd as the noise crescendoed. Then she turned to her seat.

Tenzin caught her hand.

"I already know what you're going to say," Korra said.

"I wish you would run these things by me first," Tenzin replied. "Speech-making is an art, and as a Representative I've had a lot of practice."

"You smell like saffron, Tenzin."

"Hm?"

Korra rested her head on top of her fists. "You say something weird, I say something weird. Airbending. Redirection. I'm _trying_."

* * *

Tarrlok made a *wonderful* speech about the task force he is creating to face the menace posed by the bombers. Without ever mentioning the Equalists by name, he implicated them with every word. Then he smiled and extended his hand to the Avatar, who refused, saying that she is only allowed to have one Representative as her master at a time. Tarrlok covered his surprise well and bowed low, thanking the Avatar for her loyal service to the city.

* * *

Lin wrapped her anger in metal cables and encased it in rock. Then she got up to speak.

"I'm Chief of Police Lin Beifong," she said. "I know you are all worried about another attack. Teams of metalbenders have been placed on guard at all hospitals, the exterior damage to the Pajau Yan Hospital has been patched with metal, it is already resuming operations, and our investigation is proceeding swiftly. Continue your lives as normal.

"Let me put to rest some of the rumors that have been flying around this city. The police have uncovered no evidence that Equalists were responsible for the tragedy that occurred at Pajau Yan. There is also no evidence that "Lightning Bolt" Zolt and the Triple Triad carried out the attack, contrary to the claims of the Equalists. There is no evidence that further attacks will happen, at other hospitals or anywhere. The extra security is a mere precaution, not a sign that we anticipate another explosion. There is not even evidence that the explosion was an attack on Pajau Yan. The evidence points to an accident of some kind. Do not put your faith in the whispers of your neighbors or rants on the radio. I have looked at the evidence myself, and there was no bombing."

Lin hesitated, her lips twisting, and then she said, "Republic City is safe. That is all."

* * *

The black clouds gathered ominously in the sky, but Korra felt only a few drops intermittently, not even a light drizzle. The large man next to the beautiful woman in black got up and walks to the microphone. Korra paid him little attention despite his booming voice. The service was dragging on too long, and she wanted to move. To her consolation, Beifong seemed just as frustrated, tapping her foot, drumming her fingers on her arms.

Sato droned on about how little truly separated benders and non-benders, about how his rise to the top from the very bottom proved anyone could make it, bender or no, wealthy or poor. Korra watched Councilman Shiro, her stomach churning, the nervousness building up inside of her and wanting to explode.

* * *

The sages began to rise for another dance, but the large man had lost the crowd, and they were restless, angry and frightened. At a motion from Chief Beifong they stayed seated, and the memorial ended.

"I'm getting Naga," Korra said.

"I'll come with you," Tenzin said. "I can show you where the Equalist neighborhoods are."

"I didn't think you'd approve."

"I don't."

"Airbending," Korra groused.

Metalbenders were already working to disperse the crowd. Reporters surrounded the Avatar, but she simply moved the earth under their feet back until they finally gave up. She and Tenzin made their way to the ferry.

"Our new Avatar is quite forceful," Qopuk murmured.

"She's an idiot," Oma said. "Qopuk, darling, check my nails."

"They're spotless, of course."

"That Avatar is more like a wild dog than a woman," Oma said.

"Don't like the competition, Oma?" Beifong thumped the earth with her feet twice, sending some sort of sign to her underlings.

Oma's eyes were red. Not pale brown like Mako's, not golden like Zolts, but red. They were narrowed on the Avatar's fading blue back.

"I don't like spots."

* * *

"You can't go tearing down the buildings," Tenzin said. The ferry moved them steadily towards Air Temple Island. "Even if some Equalists are responsible, and we don't know that yet, most are as innocent as you. You'll only scare the few who might be guilty, and they'll be harder to find."

"So what do I do?"

"You need the help of investigators. The metalbenders—"

"Beifong is a huge jerk—"

"Chief Beifong is very committed to fighting crime in this city. She can just be a little…abrasive. Try to get along with her."

Korra hopped onto dry land. "I have a pretty good investigator of my own."

"Naga!" she called at the top of the stairs. "Naga, we're heading out!"

Then she saw the bodies.

"Tenzin!" she shouted. "Tenzin!"

He caught up with her at the top of the stairs and hurried over to the fallen sentries.

"Equalists," one groaned before Tenzin could speak. "Chi-blocking."

"Where are Pema and my children?"

"Don't know."

Tenzin was already moving. "I'm finding Naga!" Korra said. Naga always came bounding up to greet her when she got back. If the Equalists had touched a single hair of hers….

She tore through the gardens and into the main building where the dormitories were. She passed the kitchen when a voice called, "Avatar Korra!"

Korra swiveled and caught sight of Jie Ming pulling herself out from under a table. "What happened here? Where's Naga?"

"Equalists attacked the island," Jie Ming said. "They pretended to be a tour group—"

"Where's Naga?"

Jie Ming flinched. "They took her."

Korra's face turned dark. "What?"

"They subdued your dog…and took her." Her eyes were round and scared. "I'm sorry, I couldn't—"

"Where did they go?"

"Across the water—"

Korra burst outside. She stumbled, fell, got back up again, running to the edge of the island. She needed something more, speed, power—

* * *

The woman looking through the great telescope of the observatory at the South Pole frowned. "Something's wrong with the focus."

Her assistant started. "No, I checked, it, uh, everything should be—"

"This star is pulsing. Look at it." She moved away and let him take her spot.

He peered through the eyepiece. "That's…uh, shouldn't be, I checked—"

She pushed him aside and nudged the telescope, centering it on a different star. "This one's normal." She moved it back. "Still pulsing."

"What, uh—"

"Get Arnook. He's going to want to tell Professor Unalaq about this."

* * *

—And something responded.

Power flooded through her, energy a hundred thousand million or more times stronger than anything she had ever felt. When she turned her hand to look at it a fifth of the island parted from the edge, cut off as easily as congealed rice.

Then the information poured in. It was like _feeling_ the entire South Pole building from the gradual accretion of ice sped up times a thousand.

Forms, techniques, control, breathing, how to use and direct the power, so many scenarios to look through, so many voices to call on. It was too much to comprehend, to manage, her head was going to explode—

_Wait. _

_Goal?_

Dog. Them. Across water. Fast, strong. Find.

It was like placing a line of stones across a stream. The information slowed to a trickle now, squeezing through according to the requirements she set.

And Korra knew.

* * *

Tenzin staggered outside, his wife's arm around his shoulder and his terrified children clutching at his legs. Just outside the main hall stood Korra, her eyes glowing, her hair whipped around by a howling wind that was growing in intensity.

A noise like the splash of a rock falling into the water only times a thousand rocked the island. Only then did Tenzin notice bright blue ocean below where part of the island used to be.

"Korra!" Tenzin shouted above the screaming wind. "Korra!"

The wind vanished, and so did Korra down deep into the rock of the island. Tenzin stared at the hole her body had disappeared into until he was distracting by the sound of an incredible roar. On the side of the island that led to Republic City, the water was foaming, changing, writhing like a hundred giant serpents around their mother, and in the center of it was Korra. She shot forward surrounded by the bubbling sphere of water, a stream of water stretching back to the bay like the tail of great lizard.

By the time Tenzin had taken a single step forward, Korra was already in the city and moving.


	9. Flood

The Avatar tore through the streets inside her voluminous boiling blue sphere of water, ripping up the street beneath her, scattering signs and brushing away the parked cars still stuck in the gridlock like a wave flooding through a town. Then she stopped. She rose, supported by the long tail of water pumping noisily out for miles behind her, and she surveyed the city. Below, there were people screaming, running.

_Find dog._

But nothing came up.

_Find dog!_

She had to plunge through the masses of data to find it, which took time. The stream of information was so thin compared to the masses of bending techniques and the flow of power. It was outdated too. The streets and buildings barely resembled the hazy map that came up.

She dismissed it. The Avatar moved on.

* * *

"Pema, stay here with the children." Tenzin pried Meelo off his leg and set him down.

"No," Pema said. "The metalbenders can handle her. You are not leaving!"

Tenzin watched the huge tail of water wind its way through the city. "No, they cannot handle her. Besides, I am, for better or worse, her airbending master. This is my responsibility."

"It's mine!" a voice said. Jie Ming leaned her head outside of the dining hall. "I'm the one who told Avatar Korra that the Equalists took Naga. Please bring me; I can talk to her."

"Her dog is missing?" Tenzin's face clenched. "No wonder."

"I didn't know it'd be this bad."

"It's not your fault. Come quickly!"

But the instant Tenzin set her down on the shore of the city, Jie Ming took off in a different direction from where the water-tail pointed.

"Where are you going?" Tenzin shouted. "The water is too deep.

Jie Ming didn't look back. "Follow her! I'll try something different!"

There was no time to argue. Tenzin fashioned a whirling ball of air underneath his feet and took off on it, flying parallel to the streaming tail of water that marked the Avatar's path.

* * *

At some point it occurred to Korra that she could simply pick pieces of the city and shake them until Naga fell out. She stopped and pulled up until she stood even with the damaged Pajau Yan, resting on the tail of bubbling water that stretched out behind her for miles.

_Pull? Lift, bring, find._

Something answered. Korra stretched her hands over the city beneath her and saw a woman in dark green armor swinging toward her on a cable. Some kind of blade stuck out of the end of the metal sheet over her wrist.

_The one who won't help.  
_

Korra's hand moved to sweep her aside. The water around her responded, a thin streaming streaking out from the sphere multiplying into a veritable tidal wave. The wave overtook the metalbender. It was bubbling. Boiling hot.

She saw her hand outstretched. It was turning yellow. So was her arm. Bubbles formed and popped along the skin. It hurt. Not important. She looked past her outstretched hand to the city below and for the first time _noticed_.

Cars floated along in streets so deeply flooded the light poles looked like child-sized versions of themselves. Metalbenders as small as ants bended the streets into hills and troughs, letting the water flow down and be collected. But they were too few, and the spray of water from her tail was fast and constant, and ever time she moved it got longer.

A child floated along one of the streets, flailing after her dog.

_Why did you do this?_ Korra demanded.

Didn't ask, came the answer, or at least that's how it seemed after she translated it.

_Dry it up. No hurting._

Difficult. This time the answer was weak, faded like when she had asked for the map of the city.

_Then don't want._

The power cut out, and so did the sphere of water. The miles-long tail lost its rigidity, and it crashed down, sending waves rippling through the flood. For a moment Korra felt as if she were floating. Then she dropped toward the earth, and just before her eyes closed, she thought,

_I forgot to get the kid first._

The power cut out, and the sphere of water lost its shape. The miles-long tail crashed down, sending waves rippling through the flood. Korra fell with it toward the flooded street below.

* * *

Jie Ming had planned to steal a Satocycle, but the streets were too flooded. She took to the roofs instead, hopping from house to house, crossing along the same wires the metalbenders used when she couldn't make a direct jump. It was risky, but hopefully with an Avatar on the rampage people wouldn't notice something as relatively innocuous as girl leaping across the rooftops.

The Avatar's tail extended for miles, but it turned in a direction away from the Equalist neighborhoods to the south. Did she not know where they were? Even so, Jie Ming could feel the force of the Avatar's water. It sounded like how a rainstorm must sound like if the clouds were right next to you and _angry_.

Running across the city was exhausting, and Yucheng's likely hideout was far away. Jie Ming's stamina flagged. She slowed and watched the tail of water swerve suddenly and spiral high into the sky. In the distance she could barely make out Korra's figure and someone else swinging toward her on a cable. She couldn't see what happened next, but a massive wave streamed out of the Avatar's sphere of water as it it was a thousand times more dense than it appeared. It poured over houses, sweeping the light poles up in its wake. The shock wave knocked her off her feet, sending her tumbling into the water below.

The water surrounded her and pulled her down. She kicked madly and clawed for the surface madly, her Air Acolyte clothes dragging uselessly. For a moment panic pierced her gut, and then rage replaced it. Rage at Tenzin for making her wear these stupid, useless clothes, rage at Yucheng for his idiot plan that he only grew more smugly confident in when she warned him over and over that the Avatar would explode with fury and fear, and rage at the Avatar for never paying any attention to anything at all.

Her hand punched through the surface of the water, and with one final thrust she brought her head up and gasped for air. Panting, she reoriented herself and kicked out for the side of a house. She climbed onto the roof, shaking now with the cold. The Avatar was nowhere in sight. Her tail had collapsed, but Jie Ming remembered where she had seen her last. Something must have happened to Korra.

_If I can get there first—_

But no, the metalbenders would reach her sooner. Yucheng had already made a mess of things. She needed a new plan.

Jie Ming had learned a thing or two from working in the Air Temple. Sometimes the indirect route was faster.

* * *

_Korra faced the monster. With the grotesque form of a centipede five times longer than a man and eight long, sharp claws surrounding its…_

_face…_

_…it would have been in any other instant the most terrifying sight she had ever seen._

_Korra's face showed no emotion. "I am here to kill you, monster."_

_The centipede skittered out of sight, climbing deeper into the dark cavern. "Such a bold challenge, Avatar. Vengeance with honor. You cannot bend here!"_

_Korra hefted the familiar spear of her people. "I do not intend to."_

_She took aim at the source of the noise and hurled her spear. The force of the gust of air sent the sandbender sprawling against the ship. _

_Korra rose higher into the air. "Give me Appa back!"_

_The sandbenders cowered back, but there was nowhere for them to run. She called the power to her when something caught her hand. Someone familiar, calling her name._

"Korra! Korra, can you hear me?"

Korra jerked up into a sitting position. For a moment before her vision cleared, all she could see was a bright blue arrow. "Tenzin. Tenzin! What's going on?"

Tenzin's face was wracked with concern. "You entered the Avatar State, Korra. Did Arnook tell you—"

"I mean, where's my dog?"

"I've informed Police Captain Fong as to the situation," Tenzin said. "You should rest while they—"

"Good." Korra stared unseeingly at a patch of space in front of her. "Good." Then she began to cry.

She felt Tenzin's hand rest on her shoulder. "I need help, Tenzin."

"We are doing everything we—"

"It ends badly if I don't." This time, Tenzin didn't interrupt. "I won't get her back."

"Naga?"

"No, Ummi—I mean, yes, Naga! I shouldn't have—I need your help!"

She wiped her eyes and looked around. She was on a hill of street-stone, surrounded by metalbenders. They were turning the city into a kind of gradual ramp leading out into the bay. The water level was a lot lower than she remembered.

She tried to stand. Tenzin gently tightened his grip. "It's best if you stayed seated for now. I sent for a healer. They'll be here soon."

Korra realized how much pain her body was in. She laid back. But minutes passed and the healer didn't come. The sense of urgency renewed. She needed to find Naga, now.

Korra pushed Tenzin's hand away and stood up, wincing the pain that shot through her. Three metal cables caught her around the wrist, waist, and ankle, each yanking her in a different direction. It was agony. She might have screamed, she didn't remember.

"No!" Tenzin snapped, and the metalbenders stopped pulling, but their cables remained taut. He turned his attention to her. "Korra, after flooding half the city and assaulting Chief Beifong, the police have seen fit to place you under arrest."

Korra fell to her knees. That also hurt. Tenzin repeated what he had said. She tried to remember. "I attacked Beifong?"

Tenzin's face was grave. "I will defend you myself, attesting to the emotional state you were in at the time of your crime, but you did."

"Is—Is she—"

"She'll recover," Tenzin said.

Korra nodded, which hurt, but everything did. It was only in her hazy vision that she noticed a small, hunched-over girl with dark bangs standing very still in the midst of the metalbenders. Her clothes weren't orange but a generic grey. She nodded at Korra.

Tenzin followed her vision. In the instant he was distracted, she raised her arms, though the metal cables around them tore the skin from her bone, and raised a wall between separating Tenzin from Korra and the metalbenders. Jie Ming struck. The two nearest to her fell two swift blows to the back of the head. Two more went down before the metalbenders knew what was happening. Jie Ming subdued another one before their cables caught her, but the cable around Korra's leg went limp. She kicked fire. The fiery stream distracted the metalbenders, allowing Jie Ming to escape. She grabbed Korra, who didn't protest at the pain, and jumped down the hill where the water had mostly emptied out.

"Go to the border of the south-central block," Jie Ming said. "You'll find Naga there." She ran, keeping her head ducked down.

Tenzin appeared on the top of the wall. He jumped down to Korra in a single bound. "All you all right? Where did they go?"

"They escaped. Tenzin, we need to go to the border of the south-central block. Naga's there."

"The Equalists?" Tenzin looked around, but Jie Ming had already disappeared behind one of the many street-hills. "I suppose that was their messenger. For better or worse, your display must have frightened them."

He took a wooden object that looked a little like a dog made out of waves. He put his lips to it and blew. Korra didn't hear anything.

"What's that?" she asked.

"A whistle," Tenzin answered. "We will get there faster by air bison.

* * *

Sky bison fly by airbending the currents around them with subtle motions of their tails and six legs and paws. Their large tails help with balance and direction, and their hairs mesh together against the wind in a manner similar to a bird's feathers. They are massive, heavy creatures, but with airbending creating sufficient lift is a simple task for a sky bison. The sky bison they were riding on had spent most of its life carrying the world's entire population of airbenders. Korra held tightly to its fur. If she closed her eyes, it felt a little bit like Naga.

But she couldn't keep her eyes closed for long as they passed over the wreckage she had left in her wake. Houses and buildings were damaged, signs and poles uprooted. The metalbenders had restored order and drained most of the water, but they were spread thinly. They either didn't notice or didn't care as Tenzin's sky bison passed overhead.

"We're getting near to the edge of Equalist turf," Tenzin said. He directed the sky bison toward the ground and helped her get off. "They will have seen us coming," he said more to himself than her. We don't want to surprise them. This was too hastily organized to be a trap. They could not have predicted you would enter the Avatar State."

She nodded. He supported her toward a row of trees that seemed to separate the buildings and streets that lay beyond from the ones before. There were no hills here, but the streets weren't badly flooded.

"Subtlety, Korra, is attribute airbenders pride themselves upon," Tenzin murmured. "As much as I would like to send a monsoon tearing through these houses, I ask you to restrain yourself from the first opportunity to violence that presents itself. Caution is our watchword."

A wet, sloshing sound like the sound of boots wading through water sounded from beyond the border. Korra and Tenzin stood their ground.

"We have come for a dog," Tenzin called. His voice sounded...not loud, but projected somehow beyond the normal range of human capacity.

The noise stopped. "This is not what I expected. But that was always your game, Councilman Tenzin."

A man appeared from behind an apartment building. He was tall, and he moved with the effortless grace of a trained warrior despite the water sloshing around feet. His mustache was divided into two strands that hung down along either side of his mouth like the barbels on a catfish.

Korra pulled away from Tenzin. The earth cracked underneath her feet. "You with them? Where's my dog?"

"Am I with who?" the man asked.

"The Equalists."

"I am one, yes."

She couldn't help it; the anger flared up inside her and coming out in steam from her mouth and nose as she shouted. "Then give me my dog back before I tear this whole place down!" It was too rough, tearing up the inside of her mouth. She spat blood.

The man was unmoved. "You're immature. What have the people living here done to deserve your wrath?"

"Don't—" Korra choked on a flame. "Don't play with me! You attacked Air Temple Island, kidnapped my dog. You bombed the hospital! What did they do to deserve that?"

"As to the third," the man said calmly, "No Equalist was involved in that attack. 'Lightning Bolt' Zolt is the murderer you want."

"Who is that?"

"Your ignorance is unbecoming."

"Get to the point," Tenzin said.

"In a minute," the man answered. His eyes never moved from Korra. "Let me return to your first two accusations."

"Quit stalling or we _will_ attack," Korra snarled.

"Yes, the whole city has borne witness to your power today, Avatar Korra. Is this how you restore balance?" Korra flinched, but the man kept talking as if he didn't see. "We were warned about this, you could say. Let us try to avoid further calamity.

"You said that the Equalists attacked Air Temple Island. You said that the Equalists kidnapped your polar bear dog. On both counts you are mistaken. There is no such thing as "the Equalists," only individual Equalists. We have no hierarchy, no organization. The Equalists who committed these crimes today acted without the general knowledge or consent of the people who live here. Or may we attack any bender for the crimes committed by a few?"

"That's an exaggeration," Tenzin said. "You encourage, train, feed and shelter criminals here."

"Then find the ones who are guilty," the catfish man said, "Or find the ones who help the guilty, who hide the guilty, who teach the guilty. Can you?" He did not wait for an answer. "But as it happens, the Equalists do not tolerate barbarism. Ideas, not force, will triumph. I apologize for such terror as was inflicted upon your family. Were they actually harmed?"

"...No."

"Then that is all. As for you, Avatar Korra, my fellow Equalists and I were alerted to the crime unjustly committed against you and set out to right matters. We expect you will submit to the will of Shangdi of your own volition at your own time, or perhaps he will destroy you. In the meantime, we return your dog to you."

He motioned with his hand, and two more people came out from behind the building leading a large, hairy white monster perpetually a puppy in her master's eyes.

"Naga!" Korra shrieked. The polar bear dog responded to the call, bounding forward with high-pitched yelps. Korra caught Naga around the thick folds of her neck fat and buried her face in her fur. Though it stung and she began to bleed again, Korra did not relent and Naga did not pull away. For the second time that day, Korra cried.


	10. Fresh Air

Reporters were barred from the arraignment. It was only Tenzin, Korra, Tenzin's lawyer, the prosecuting lawyer, and a few metalbenders. And the judge.

He glared down at Korra. "The defendant is charged with wanton and reckless destruction of property and endangerment of lives, assault on several police officers, resisting arrest, evading arrest, and manslaughter. How do you plead, Avatar Korra?"

"Guilty," Korra said.

"Prosecution, have you reached an agreement?"

"Sort of," the prosecuting attorney said. He was a skinny man with thick, round glasses. Something about him made Korra want to hoist him up by his underwear. "The defendant has flatly refused jail time."

"What do you mean, refused?"

Tenzin's lawyer stood. "The defendant is the Avatar. Her role in this world transcends human law. The importance of this has been established since at least the time of Avatar Suiko. Avatar Korra must be able to bring balance where and when she deems it necessary in order to ensure the fate of the whole world."

"There are precedents," the prosecutor said. "The founding of our modern justice system, _The World's Nations vs. Ozai_, as well as the later case _Republic City vs. Beifong_. In both cases the defendant was found guilty but not punished by typical means due to the extremely extenuating circumstances."

"In the latter case, it was because Toph Beifong escaped and the court wanted to save face," the judge said. "I'm uncomfortable with a precedent of allowing sufficiently important individuals to avoid punishment for their actions."

"I—" Korra began, but Tenzin touched her arm. She picked at her bandages as the prosecutor answered.

"The Avatar has agreed to fines to be paid out of her income such as she may earn over the course of her lifetime to a fund for the affected families, to labor uncompensated to restore Republic City, heal the wounded, to continue to contribute her bending power as directed by a judge to the benefit of the city for the remainder of her life, to, uh 'inspire children everywhere,' and finally to bring balance to the city, which she has in her professional opinion determined is 'completely out of whack,' Your Honor." He swallowed. "She has also expressed a disinterest in cooperating should the court sentence her in such a way as to limit her freedom of movement."

"I think we can all agree we do not want another Toph Beifong situation," Tenzin's lawyer said.

But the judge shook his head. "This is completely unacceptable."

"There is also the matter of the extenuating circumstances of the Avatar's mental state at the time her crimes were committed," Tenzin's lawyer said. "To wit, her dog had been kidnapped by Equalists. This triggered a defense mechanism known as the 'Avatar State.' She was not fully in control of her actions while in this state, did not knowingly or deliberately activate this state, and deliberately exited this state by force of will upon recognizing the damage it was wreaking."

"Furthermore," the prosecute said, "The flood appears to have, uh, dampened the mood of rage and fury following the Pajau Yan incident that threatened—"

The judge cut in. "You're telling me that the defendant has access to a super-powered state that can activate at any time and she cannot control? And you _don't_ think I should lock her up?"

"…Civil war," the prosecutor muttered.

The judge banged his gavel. "No, you can't evade the law simply because you're important. The plea is denied."

"Then I plead not guilty," Korra said.

"Any objections?" The judge looked at the prosecutor, who looked glum but shook his head. He banged his gavel. "Fine, bail is set at one hundred _jiangs_. You'll be contacted with the date of your trial. Metalbenders—"

"I'll pay," Tenzin sighed.

* * *

Three weeks later and under the attention of the White Lotus's best healers, Korra still wasn't fully recovered. Tenzin strictly forbade her from exerting herself, and the White Lotus sentries followed her like her own shadow whenever she stepped outdoors. The Batbender was on hiatus for now. Korra wondered occasionally if crime was running rampant in the streets with both her and Beifong out of commission.

During this time Korra's favorite room became the Air Temple study. During the day thin orange sheets hung over the windows, casting the room in a gentle glow. It was full of books, but it was also empty of people during the afternoon when Tenzin was out and the Air Acolytes were working. For an hour, it was quiet and still and smelled of dust. Sometimes she liked to curl up with Naga there and catch up on a fraction of all the sleep she hadn't been getting. That Tenzin was there too this time didn't bother her.

Korra pressed the top of her head further into Naga's heavy flank. "Just how many people died?"

"Every action has consequences," Tenzin said. "Including the consequences of actions not taken. At nearly single point in every life that has ever been, people chose do to something other than to do they most they could to save other people's lives. You are not alone in this."

"Just tell me." He did. Korra exhaled slowly. "That's it, huh? I did that?"

"The Avatar State did."

"I did. You're my airbending master. I'm supposed to accept stuff, right?"

"Yes. Forgive me."

She waved a hand. "Forgiven."

A minute passed. Dust settled on Tenzin's bald head. Korra squeezed Naga's loose fat.

"I'm the worst Avatar ever, aren't I?"

"Every Avatar makes mistakes. My father, Avatar Aang, was nearly killed once while in the Avatar State. Did Arnook tell you what—"

"Yeah." Korra thought about it. "So does that mean I nearly wasn't born?"

"No," Tenzin said so sharply Naga jolted. "That is not correct."

Korra pulled herself up and peered at Tenzin, whose eyes were as sharp as the blue arrow that seemed to point right at her.

"I believe that even if Aang had died that day, you would still be here. You would still be our Avatar."

* * *

"Lot of nasty things they're saying about the Avatar in the newspaper," Mako said. He turned the page. "Crazier than Avatar Suiko, whoever that was."

Bolin looked up from the book on astrophysics he had borrowed from the library. "Oh, I think I remember a book mentioning her. She threw a bunch of people into a volcano for making fun of her or something."

"The Avatar is going to need some public relations assistance," Mako said.

"I bet Tenzin has people for that," Bolin said.

"The Avatar needs her own people." Mako grinned. "How do you think she'd take to riding on a Satocycle?"

* * *

_Two mornings before the trial_

"Sit," Jinora commanded.

Korra fought with her knees as they threatened to fold at the sound of the ten year-old girl's voice of command.

"_Sit_," Jinora said again, and Korra sat.

"Uh, Jinora, what are we—"

"Naga, come."

Naga came.

"Naga, sit."

Naga sat.

"_How are you doing this?_"

Jinora ignored her. "Now, Korra, face Naga." She sounded like Arnook did when she was little.

"You can't tell me what to do!" Korra cried, looking around in desperation for the source of her restraint.

Jinora raised an eyebrow.

Korra sheepishly faced her dog.

"You're lucky you're cute, kid, or I'd stick you in a box of earth for a week," Korra grumbled. "What are we doing, anyway?"

"We're meditating," Jinora said from behind her.

"I don't do meditating."

"You're trying again. And don't mumble! Straighten up!"

Korra turned her head to glare at Jinora.

She turned back around.

Jinora had _never lowered her eyebrow_.

"Now I want you to relax, Korra," Jinora said. Korra heard her sit down. "I'll be right here close to you, sitting on the grass in the sun like this. Isn't it nice? Those are chrysanthemum growing over there. Aren't they pretty? You don't have flowers in the South Pole, right? We won't see the plum blossoms until winter, but I think they'll be your favorite."

Korra looked grudgingly at the flowers. They were red, white, yellow, even pink and purple, and the petals splayed out openly.

"Which one are the chysanthe—chrysthe—"

"Chrysanthemum. All of them are. Chrysanthemum are important symbols to the Air Nomads. Azaleas, on the other hand, aren't so popular here. I think they're pretty, but you'll have to go into one of the parks in the city to see them. Or the Earth Kingdom, of course."

Korra gazed at the flowers as they swayed in the wind. "They're beautiful." There was nothing like them in the South Pole, not even the southern lights.

"Aren't they? Naga likes them too. She likes to stick her face in them and sneeze. I've seen her doing it."

Korra looked into her polar bear dog's eyes. "You like flowers? I never knew. I would have asked Arnook if we could have bought you some from outside." Naga didn't answer.

"I think Naga's happy to be here," Jinora said. "Does that make you happy, if Naga's happy?"

Korra stared into Naga's dark brown eyes. "Yes."

"How come?"

"She's my polar bear dog." Korra's voice was oddly hoarse. "Of course I love her."

"Naga is a point of light in your heart."

"Yes, she is."

"Think of that light. Hold that light there. Close your eyes and let that light flow throughout your entire body."

Korra closed her eyes.

"You can feel it, right? She's still there?"

"I can hear her breathing."

"And I'm right here."

Korra cracked an eye open. "I can hear you too."

"Then I'll be quiet. Until you can only hear my breathing."

Korra closed her eyes and breathed.

* * *

_That night  
_

Tenzin dropped a strip of orange cloth into her bandaged hands. "Wrap it around your eyes like this."

Korra looked at it askance. "We're fighting blindfold?"

"That's the plan."

"The plan? You and Jinora are plotting together now?"

His look of confusion seemed genuine. Korra shrugged and put on the blindfold.

The orange cloth fell over her eyes, obscuring the world from view. She tightened it. "This is some ancient airbending stuff, huh?"

"Earthbending, actually. But water is the element of change, after all."

"You're an airbender."

"But my mother is a waterbender."

"Who died and made you the Avatar? Tenzin, I can't see."

"All five of your senses need to learn to accept reality in order to affect the greatest change. Use water as well this time."

"Tenzin—"

The ground distorted, cracked and bulged unnaturally. Flames erupted in streams and bursts, cutting through the night like the souls of dragons. Through it all Tenzin whirled like a vortex, a tornado tearing across an apocalyptic desert's dying convulsions until a stream of water snaked out and caught him about the ankle. Korra yanked hard, and Tenzin fell to the ground.

"Tenzin!" She tore off the cloth and ran to him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He stood, raised the blindfold, and brushed himself off as if nothing had happened. "Well done. Can you do it without the handicap this time?"

She answered by kicking away and raising her fists. Tenzin settled into his stance. This time Korra lashed out first. Fire met air in the center of the rent and fragmented island. Korra's body gave out soon after. Tenzin caught her.

"Congratulations," he whispered.

* * *

On a damaged island separated by the bay from the Avatar's city, where the four elements and then some met and became something more and else, Tenzin and his family gathered with Naga to watch. The breeze blowed from the east, and the grass bowed to let it through. Jinora gripped her father's hand.

Korra took a deep breath. She set her left foot forward and pivoted in a long, smooth motion, bringing her arms around like she was feeling the inside of a sphere that only she could see, or maybe it was that she didn't need to.

The breeze changed direction. Korra sunk to her knees, gasping. She hid her face in her hands.

"You did it!" Ikki, Meelo and Jinora swarmed her. Their tiny hands tugged at her arms until Meelo, losing all patience, jumped on top of her. They bore her to the ground, laughing. It still hurt, but somehow that made it better.

"There's four of us now!" they shouted. Korra wrapped them up in her arms and held them for a long time.

She heard the crunch of grass in front of her. Tenzin knelt, smiling. "Congratulations, Korra. You're an airbender."

The air blew east again. The Avatar breathed it deeply. "Yes, I am."

The change in the velocity of the wind was temporary and local. Only two people in Republic City noticed the aberration. The first was the same man who had killed Captain Saikhan. He was not a bender, but he noticed all such things in his own way, a sense that only he experienced and only a few others could even comprehend, neither sight nor feel but sight-feel. He continued to sit on the street with his hat in front of him and showed no sign as the stream of people parted around him.

One of the few who could comprehend Human Killer's condition was also the only other to notice the change in the winds, or rather, his many fine instruments set up around the city did. But such things were common from that island, and he took no notice of it as he prepared his testimony for the Avatar's trial.


	11. The Trial

Morning light streamed into the courtroom from windows thirty feet high. The constant click and flash of cameras and the clamor of the crowd made it hard for Korra to concentrate on anything but picking at her bandages while she waited by her lawyer. There must have been hundreds of people in the courtroom and thousands more outside. It wasn't often you got to see an Avatar on trial.

"Not since Avatar Suiko," Korra's lawyer said. He set a heavy briefcase on the table. "Now she was a nasty piece of work."

"All rise!" the bailiff said. He had to shout a few times to get the noise to quiet down. "The City Court is now in session, the honorable Judge Rengan presiding."

A man in flowing black robes entered the room from a door in the back. He was tall, handsome and younger than Korra had expected. Browner, too. Was he from one of the Water Tribes like her? A wave of clicks and flashes fired as he made his way to the high chair.

The bailiff handed him a sheet as he settled in. The judge leaned down and whispered something.

"There will be no photography during the proceedings of the trial," the bailiff boomed. "All violators will be held in contempt of court."

"It's illegal to make the judge mad," Korra's lawyer whispered.

"Don't worry. I'm good at getting along with authority," Korra whispered back. That only seemed to make him more worried.

"Today's case is Republic City vs. Avatar Korra," the bailiff said.

"Are both sides ready?" Judge Rengan asked. His voice was deep, smooth and incredibly intoxicating. If the smell of the fresh roasting coffee beans that Jie Ming had shown her from the market could be translated into sound, it would be his voice. Korra couldn't help but touch the ugly splotches of yellowish brown that marked her unbandaged face and hands.

"Yes, Your Honor," the prosecution said. Korra's lawyer voiced his agreement.

"Very well. Prosecution, your opening statement."

The prosecutor, a short, thin man with thick spectacles, stood and nodded at the 21 jurors sitting in three staggered benches to the side. "If it pleases the court and gentlebenders of the jury, I am Minh, Chief Counsel to Republic City.

"Innumerable witness can bear testimony to the crimes for which the Avatar Korra stands accused, to wit wanton destruction of city and private property, reckless endangerment of lives, causing physical injury of varying seriousness to hundreds of people, assault a police officer, resisting arrest, evading arrest, and manslaughter. You will hear testimony establishing both the Avatar Korra's responsibility for the destruction, injury and death visited upon Republic City in the recent calamity, and you will hear testimony to the effect that she willfully caused such destruction."

He sat. Korra's lawyer rose. "If it pleases the court and gentlebenders of the jury, I am Osamu, counsel to the defense.

"The same testimonies that will establish the correlation between Avatar Korra's actions and the destruction and calamity in Republic City will also establish that she was not herself but rather in the 'Avatar State.' Witness testimony will show the Avatar State is a defense mechanism the Avatar Korra did not deliberately activate but was triggered by fear and panic at an assault on her, to whit the kidnapping of her dog at the hands of the terrorist organization the Equalists, whom the police believe are responsible for the explosion at Pajau Yan. It will be further established that when in the Avatar State, it is the state itself that is responsible for the Avatar Korra's decision making. Korra herself was not in control of her actions at the time of the incident."

"Before the city presents its evidence," Judge Rengan said, "I would like to see the Avatar. Might she stand?"

Korra started. So did her lawyer. "That's, uh, highly irregular, Your Honor."

"Everything about this case is highly unusual," Judge Rengan said. "That's the thrust of your defense, isn't it?"

"It's illegal to make the judge mad, right?" Korra whispered, sounding more confident than she felt. She stood. The judge pretended not to see her, which was silly since of course she was sitting by her lawyer. "I'm here."

"Ah, Avatar Korra." His handsome blue eyes met hers. "I'm sorry we had to meet like this. I hope for your sake and ours your trial goes well. You understand, the eyes of the city are on you today in more ways than one. Whether you are acquitted is up to you today more than me. But, ah…." He tapped his chin. "My opinion counts for a lot too. You may sit."

Korra sat, unsure of what that meant. Her lawyer seemed confused as well. The prosecutor didn't seem much happier. He stood. "If I may call my first witness…." Judge Rengan nodded. "If it pleases the court, I call Police Captain Feng to the stand."

Police Captain Feng held himself straight as he walked to the shorter chair by the judge. His hair was cut short and his face shaven clean, and he took the oath with a calm, steady voice before sitting down.

The prosecuting attorney stepped out from behind his bench. "Could you please identify yourself to the jury?"

"I am Police Captain Feng, second-in-command to Police Chief Beifong."

"Can you describe what you saw on the day of the incident?"

"I was in my office when we heard the water. It smashed up the windows and started coming it, so the Chief ordered us outside. The…tail…was hovering about six feet in the air, spraying out water like a hose. It seemed to stretch for a long way, and when I followed it with my eyes I saw the Avatar Korra hovering above the city surrounded by a sphere of bubbling water. We could see even from far away that her eyes were glowing, they were so bright. The tail of water stretched out from her, and it looked to go all the way back into the bay."

"What did you do?"

"The streets were flooding fast. We weren't trained or prepared for this storm, but we decided to earth bend the streets into hills to stop the water from spreading. Later we sloped the streets so that the water flowed back into the bay. We sent other metalbenders out to find civilians in need of help."

"Who decided on this plan?"

"Chief Beifong mostly. We didn't have much time."

"What did Chief Beifong do?"

"She went after the Avatar."

"Alone?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"She ordered me to oversee the containment of the flooding. She had spoken with the Avatar before and knows Tenzin, her airbending master, so I thought she would try to talk to the Avatar."

Korra's lawyer had barely begun to open his mouth before the prosecutor interjected, "But she didn't say what her plan was?"

"No."

"When had Chief Beifong and the Avatar previously spoken?"

"When the Avatar was arrested her first night in the city."

"So this is not the first time the Avatar has been charged with a crime."

"No."

"What was the charge that time?"

"She broke several laws."

"Specifically?"

"Entering Republic City without the proper paperwork, smuggling an exotic animal—"

"What animal?"

"A polar bear dog."

"The same polar bear dog that was the cause of this...event?"

"Yes."

"Go on."

"Smuggling an exotic animal into the city, panhandling, fighting, recklessly and willfully damaging city property, and recklessly and willfully damaging private property."

"Do you know how the Avatar Korra felt about Chief Beifong after this incident?"

"No. I gather the Chief didn't like the Avatar very much."

"Did you see the encounter between Chief Beifong and the Avatar?"

"Yes. I was on one of the hills. The Avatar was up by the hospital—"

"Which hospital?"

"Pajau Yan."

Minh paused. Korra could guess why. The image would stick in people's minds, the Avatar glowing, surrounded by boiling water as she hovered in front of the damaged, bombed-out hospital. "What happened?"

"The chief swung toward the Avatar on her cables because the Avatar was so high up. I saw the Avatar Korra wave her arm. A wave came out of the sphere—"

"A wave came out of the sphere? What do you mean?"

"I wouldn't have thought it was possible if I hadn't seen it. There couldn't have been that much water in the sphere around her, but a tendril came out that grew so fast before I could blink it was big enough to flatten a building. It caught Chief Beifong up and swept her away. We're lucky she didn't die."

"What happened after that?"

"We kept raising the streets, but eventually the tail just stopped like the life had been taken out of it. It fell to the ground, and water stopped pouring in. The sphere around her was boiling the whole time. That must have been when she burnt herself." He nodded at her bandaged self.

"Did you try to apprehend the Avatar?"

"Some of our officers saw where she fell."

"And?"

"She incapacitated them and escaped. They reported being repeatedly struck and knocked out."

"No further questions, Your Honor."

Rengan nodded. "Defense, you may cross-examine."

Korra's lawyer passed the prosecutor on his way to the witness. "You say you saw the Avatar hovering in the sky before the incident with Chief Beifong. What was she doing?"

"I don't know."

"What did it look like she was doing?"

"It looked like she was searching for something."

"Is it possible that what she was searching for was her kidnapped dog?"

"Her polar bear dog, the one smuggled in illegally? Yes, I suppose it's possible."

"One more question. You said the officers reported being incapacitated by Avatar Korra. She fell out of the sphere of water because she was badly burnt. Are you familiar with the Avatar's medical condition after that fall?"

"Yes."

"What was it?"

"She was very badly burnt."

"How badly?"

"She could barely walk. It took a team of healers to restore her."

Her lawyer directed his attention to the judge. "The Avatar's medical information is submitted as exhibit B-1."

"I have it," Rengan replied.

Her lawyer turned back to Feng. "How could the Avatar have incapacitated multiple officers and escaped in that condition?"

"I don't know."

"No further questions."

"Redirect, Your Honor," the prosecutor stood immediately. "Captain Feng, did the officers report seeing anyone else but the Avatar?"

"No."

He sat down and Korra's lawyer stood. "Captain Feng, is it possible in your judgment that the Avatar incapacitated your officers in that condition?"

"The Avatar is capable of many things impossible to others as we learned."

"Can you imagine any way in which she could have done what your officers said she did?"

"No."

"No further questions."

"It's not a hole in the most important charges," her lawyer whispered as she sat back down, "But we can at least show that there are gaps in their understanding of the events."

"There's plenty I don't understand about it either," Korra said.

"Your next witness, counsel," Rengan said.

"This next part will not be fun," her lawyer said.

The prosecutor called his second witness. A little girl who Korra had never seen before testified, after a bit of coaxing, that Korra had been taking martial arts lessons from a known leader of a violent Satocycle gang.

"I did not know this," Osamu murmured.

"I didn't either," Korra said. "And I have no idea who that is."

Then began a stream of witnesses. The questions all went the same. Where were you and what were you doing when the water struck? And what damages did you suffer? The testimonies went on and on. An artisan whose shop was damaged. A woman who broke her wrist. A man who broke down sobbing on the witness stand for his dead daughter.

Korra's lawyer rarely challenged the events except to ask a clarifying question every now and then. Otherwise he asked each of the witnesses a single question: whether they had any reason to believe Korra had attacked them or their property deliberately. They recessed for lunch. Korra didn't eat.

When they returned, the prosecutor said, "The prosecution rests, Your Honor."

Judge Rengan yawned. "Finally. The defense may now present its evidence."

Her lawyer stood. "If it pleases the court, I call Councilman Tenzin to the stand."

A murmur ran through the crowd in the back of the courtroom. Tenzin was famous of course, the son of the previous Avatar Aang and the only airbending master in the world. That he was also the current Avatar's teacher made his role in this all the more exciting. Korra just felt bad that he was caught up in her trouble.

Tenzin took the oath seriously and sat down. He was tall enough that even sitting his blue arrow tattoo that curved his shaved head and pointed between his eyes was level with Osamu as he walked over.

"Can you identify yourself?"

"Representative Tenzin of the Air Nomads to the United Republic Council."

"What is your relationship with the defendant?"

"I am her airbending master."

"How is her training going?"

"She has recently developed the ability to airbend. I am confident she will have mastered her final element before long."

"When did she become able to airbend?" Osamu asked.

"Shortly before the arraignment."

Osamu let that sink in. "I see. You were with the Avatar when the Avatar State activated?"

"I was."

"Can you describe for the court the events leading up to the triggering of the Avatar State?"

"Korra and I were at the memorial for the Pajau Yan Incident all morning. We left her dog, Naga, on Air Temple Island, naturally. When we returned, we found the White Lotus sentries who guard our island incapacitated and the Air Acolytes cowering."

"What had occurred?"

"Equalists posing as a tour group infiltrated the island and incapacitated the guards with chi-blocking."

Noise bubbled up from the crowd. Chi-blocking was a serious taboo. Judge Rengan banged his gavel, looking unruffled, and the bailiff shouted for silence.

"What did you do?" Osamu continued.

"I went in search for my wife and children. I feared they might have been the target of the attack."

"Were they?"

"No."

"What was the target of the attack?"

"Naga, Korra's pet dog."

"What did the Avatar do when she found out?"

"I didn't see her hear the news, but I saw her stumble out of the main hall. I didn't know myself what had happened yet, but she was clearly devastated. Then her eyes began to glow."

"Her eyes began to glow?"

"It's a sign of entering the Avatar State. I saw my father, Avatar Aang, enter the state several times. His eyes and airbending tattoos always glowed as bright as a thousand stars while in the Avatar State."

"How does an Avatar trigger the Avatar State?"

"According to my father, only a fully realized Avatar who has undergone the requisite training can enter the Avatar State at will and control it. For a less mature Avatar, the Avatar State would activate whenever she feels threatened, and it would act to neutralize that threat."

"Was she a fully realized Avatar who had undergone the requisite training at the time of the trigger?"

"No."

"So according to the previous Avatar, she could not have deliberately enter the Avatar State, and once she was in the Avatar State, she was not fully aware of or in control of her actions?"

"Correct."

"What did she do when the Avatar State triggered?"

"She tore off part of the island. It is still gone, in fact."

"Did she do it on purpose?"

"Objection," the prosecutor said.

"If this argument is valid, Councilman Tenzin's judgment is all we have to go on," Rengan said. "I want to hear his answer."

"It did not seem like it," Tenzin said. "She did not even look at the damage, nor did the bending motion seem aggressive. It was a simple semicircle with her curved hand, not a chopping motion like I might have used if I had the power and the will to use it in that fashion."

"What happened next?"

"She jumped into the water separating Air Temple Island from the city. Seconds later, she emerged within a bubbling sphere of water and took off with that tail behind her. I tried to follow her but could not keep up."

"In your judgement, why did the Avatar Korra go into the city?"

"To find her pet dog."

"No further questions, Your Honor."

Rengan exhaled. "Counsel, you may cross-examine."

"Permission to treat the witness as hostile, Your Honor?"

"Granted."

"It's just because Tenzin is obviously on your side," Osamu whispered. "It only means that he can be a bit more pointed in his questions. Don't worry."

Minh approached the witness stand. "Councilman Tenzin, what kind of pet is this Naga?"

"A polar bear dog."

"Was it legal for the Avatar Korra to bring in a polar bear dog from the South Pole?"

"No. The city chose not to charge her, however."

"Just as they chose not to charge her for getting into a fight with three Triad thugs or for recklessly damaging city and private property."

"Yes."

"Why did the Avatar illegally enter the city? Why did she not come with you?"

"Due to the developing problems in Republic City, I was uncertain if I would be able to devote the proper care and attention to Korra's training, so I decided to delay bringing her to Republic City to train with me."

"So she entered the city, bringing a polar bear dog with her, not only illegally but against her master's wishes?"

"I was not her master—"

"Against your wishes?"

"Yes."

"And when she arrived in the city, she proceeded to get in a fight with three gang members, smashing up a fair amount of property in the process?"

"Yes."

"Later she befriended a leader of a notorious Satocycle gang, correct? She took martial arts lessons from him that you paid for."

"Neither of us knew of his reputation until the testimony this morning."

"But she did befriend—"

"Yes."

"Did Korra ever go into the city at night?"

"Sometimes."

"For how long?"

"Sometimes not long. Sometimes for hours.

"Did she tell you?"

"It never came up."

"She hid it from you?"

"It never came up."

"But she didn't tell you?"

"No."

Minh licked his lips. "Councilman Tenzin, have you heard of the Batbender?"

Tenzin frowned. "I have."

"Relevance?" Osamu called.

"Tenzin will explain," Minh said.

"I want to know what you're after," Rengan said. "Go on."

Minh faced Tenzin. "Can you explain what the Batbender is?"

"Supposedly," Tenzin sighed, "The Batbender is a mysterious vigilante crime-fighter who protects Republic City at night. She can fly with the help of wolfbats, they say, and she subdues criminals quite violently. She evades the metalbender police by interfering with their communication system somehow."

"And how many elements can the Batbender supposedly bend?"

"Seven or eight, I think."

"Who here most closely matches that description?" Minh asked.

"No one can bend that many elements," Tenzin said.

Minh's head turned in the direction of Korra for just an instant. "Oh really?"

Osamu got to his feet. "This is totally irrelevant! I object!"

But Rengan was staring at her in the way that a young child might examine a bug, trying to determine if it was safe to pick up. He chewed on his lip.

"Your Honor!" Osamu said.

Rengan banged his gavel. "Jury, please try to pretend you didn't just hear the things you just heard about the Batbender. Counsel, stick to the issues."

Minh didn't miss a beat. "Witness, the Avatar Korra made some remarkable comments to reporters after the Pajau Yan Incident. Did she run those comments by you before making them?"

"No."

Minh handed a paper to Tenzin. "Could you please read this out loud? It is a comment Avatar Korra made in the aftermath of Pajau Yan."

Tenzin scowled. "Everyone was in a bad place after the—"

"Is there something in that statement you don't want read?"

Tenzin sighed. "'I don't know who these Equalists are or what they want, but I know what they did and I know how I'm going to stop them: with the bending they fear so much. Well, they should fear it.'" He put the paper down and stared calmly at Minh.

Minh regarded Tenzin. "Would you characterize the Avatar Korra's behavior as exhibiting a pattern of recklessness?"

"No."

"How would you characterize her pattern of behavior?"

"Korra is a young and sometimes brash girl who makes mistakes," Tenzin said, "But if she has any faults, it is that she is too earnest, too quick to pursue justice and to fulfill the mission of the Avatar at the expense of understanding." He looked at her seriously. "I have tried to teach her, and she has grown remarkably in that time."

"Do you think she provoked the Equalists with her statements?"

"Objection!" Osamu slammed his hands on the table. He thrust a finger dramatically in the prosecution's direction. "This is highly speculative."

"Your Honor, the question is to what extent the defendant can be held responsible for her actions," Minh said. "The defense's argument is that she was in a state of distress from the kidnapping of her pet polar bear dog. If she provoked the Equalists in such a manner that retaliation could have been expected, their argument…."

Judge Rengan waved a hand. "It is speculative, so his answer doesn't mean much either way. The witness can answer or refuse as he pleases. I'm sure all you really wanted is for the jury to hear this anyway." He banged his gavel. "Jury! Pretend you haven't been listening to this aside."

He winked at Korra. It was so quick and unexpected she wasn't sure if it had really happened. No one else seemed to notice.

Tenzin's face grew taut. "I will not pretend her comments were anything but foolish and shameful. But I myself did not anticipate a violent response from the Equalists, and so I hardly see how my student could have been expected to do so."

"No further questions."

"I'd like to redirect, Your Honor," Osamu said. "Representative Tenzin, how would you describe the defendant's feelings about her pet dog?"

"Naga is her best friend whom she has cared for since she was a child," Tenzin answered.

"And her reaction to losing Naga would affect her mental state how?"

"She would be overcome with grief."

"Would she be able to think clearly?"

"No."

"That's all."

Minh waved away a recross. "Your next witness, defense," Rengan prompted.

"If it pleases the court, I call Professor Unalaq to the stand."

The murmurs were even louder for Unalaq that Tenzin. The name was familiar somehow, but Korra didn't know much about him other than Tenzin said he would be teaching her how to control the Avatar State. Osamu had said that he was a very controversial figure.

"But he's the only one with the authority we need," he admitted. "He's the best scientist in the world."

Rengan banged his gavel. The noise died. Professor Unalaq appeared, walking through the crowd. He carried himself straighter than Captain Feng, stood taller than Tenzin and had skin darker than Rengan's. Someone else from one of the Water Tribes. His clothes, however, were city clothes: a jacket, suit and cap. His voice when he took the oath was more subdued than Korra expected from his forbidding appearance. He sat down in the witness stand.

Osamu approached. "Can you identify yourself to the court?"

"I am Professor Unalaq of the University of Republic City."

"What do you teach?"

"Everything."

"Can you be more specific?"

"This semester? Advanced quantum physics, intermediate anthropology, and introductory statistics."

"Do you do research?"

"Of course."

"What do you research?"

"Everything. Specifically, the question of light has become quite popular and controversial of late."

"Can you explain?"

"To a layman? Not easily."

"Can you try?" Korra could see how Osamu was struggling to maintain his composure. Unalaq wasn't cooperating. Hadn't they talked about the testimony beforehand?

Unalaq sighed. "I am capable of presenting a simple lie in the most abstract and childish sense to give you an illusion of what my graduate students need to understand to pretend to understand my lectures. To wit, the question is the nature of light. Is it a wave or a particle?"

"…I don't know. Which is it?"

"Who says it has to be either? Sometimes it looks like a particle, sometimes it looks like a wave. You don't know what either of those things are." He said it like a statement, not a question, and he sounded contemptuous. "I say—no, I have proven it is a wave-particle."

"What…what is that?"

"You don't know what a wave or a particle is, and you want to know what a wave-particle is?"

"As much as I'm happy to watch the defense self-destruct," Minh interjected, "Is any of this relevant?"

Unalaq answered before Osamu could. "How would you know, since you do not know what I will teach your today?"

"Professor Unalaq," Rengan said, "Let your lawyer handle the lawyering and we will let you handle…material issues, as is your expertise." Korra wondered at how for the first time in the lengthy trial, Rengan's voice strained with impatience.

"Ah, forgive me, Your Honor," Osamu said. "The question of light is in fact highly important to the testimony, and I wanted to establish the witness's authority on the matter."

"We all know who he is," Rengan said. "Get on with it."

"Uh, yes, Your Honor." He coughed. "Professor Unalaq, do you know much about the Avatar State?"

"Assuming Representative Tenzin has not withheld any secrets of great importance from the White Lotus, then I know more than anyone."

"Can you tell us a bit about how the Avatar State works?"

"I can tell you a great deal. _Specifically_—" Osamu grit his teeth "—I can tell you that the Avatar spirit is not one but many. Each spirit is the spirit of the a star. It is the star's power that makes the individual Avatar life so powerful. It is the combination of many stars in one body that makes the Avatar so fearsome. The Avatar State is simply the Avatar drawing on the starlight of her past lives and not only her own star—that is, not only herself."

"How are stars powered?"

"Nuclear fusion."

"Can…can you please give a simple lie about what nuclear fusion is?"

"Certainly. Everything is made of smaller things until you reach the smallest thing, which is made of even smaller things. One of these even smaller things is called the atomic nucleus, which I helped discover. If you slam an atomic nucleus into another atomic nucleus while both are going very fast, they release a huge amount of energy. When this happens enough, stars are born. The energy that process releases we see as starlight."

"Starlight…which is a wave-particle?"

"My graduate students are wise enough not to attempt to apply their unearned knowledge in front of me."

"You will answer the defense's questions or be held in contempt of court," Rengan snapped.

Unalaq did not so much as glance up at the judge. "Yes, starlight is a wave-particle."

"So when the Avatar enters this Avatar State, she is being powered by this, ah, nuclear fusion?"

"Yes."

"What consequences does this have for her behavior?"

"Leading—" Minh began.

"None," Unalaq interjected sourly.

"Never mind."

"What happens to the Avatar when she is in the Avatar State?" Osamu tried.

"The power of a thousand suns fills her," Unalaq said. Poetic as it sounded, his tone was dry. "Her past lives…awaken. I have never experienced it, but somehow their knowledge and wisdom are more readily available in the Avatar State than elsewhere."

"So the Avatar Korra should have been more wise in the Avatar State?"

"Not precisely. Only Avatars have ever entered the Avatar State, obviously, and their writings on the matter are scarce. What I have gathered with the help of the White Lotus suggests that when the Avatar State is triggered before the Avatar in question can control it, the Avatar State aims the stream of information from the past lives squarely towards the reason for the trigger. That is to say, if the Avatar State is activated because the Avatar is in danger, she will be filled with battle power and strike at her enemies. If the Avatar has fallen deep below the sea and is lost and confused, the Avatar State will teach him to surround himself in ice until he finds tranquility. If the Avatar State has activated because the Avatar has lost her dog, the Avatar State will give her what she needs to find what she lost. No more, no less. You might say that asking the question is the hard part."

"Asking the question?"

"The Avatar State will give her what she asks for and only what she asks for in the most efficient manner. Probably."

"Probably?"

"All theories are merely _probably_, and this one is more probably than most."

"What needs to be done to control entering and exiting the Avatar State?"

"An intense period of training focusing on the most fundamental aspects of the universe and their relationship to the self."

"Has the Avatar Korra undergone that period of training?"

"No."

"She could not deliberately enter the Avatar State?"

"Obviously not."

"So once the Avatar State triggered at the loss of her dog, could she have controlled it or paid any attention to the damage she was causing to the city and its inhabitants?"

"As I understand it, no."

"No further questions, Your Honor."

Rengan looked sour. "Counsel, you may cross-examine."

Minh brushed dust off his jacket as he walked to the witness stand. "Professor Unalaq, how far is the typical star from our planet?"

"It varies. Some are only several light-years away. Some are many hundreds of light years away. Our sun is much closer, of course."

"What is a light-year?"

"It is the distance light travels in a vacuum in one year."

"So the light of a star that is, say, three light-years away would take three years to reach us?"

"Correct."

"Are there any stars other than our sun less than one light-year from us?"

"No."

"How do you explain the Avatar being powered by light that takes several years at the least to reach her?"

"It is as you say. She is powered by light that traveled for years to reach her."

"But how do you explain—"

"Fate," Unalaq said.

Rengan banged the gavel. Korra jumped at the sudden crack of wood on wood. "Witness, do not interrupt the counsel in the middle of a question or I will have you held in contempt of court! This is your last warning!"

Minh waited for Rengan to settle down. "How do you explain the starlight being there just in time for the Avatar Korra to need it?"

"Fate," Unalaq said. "All this was determined long ago. The stars are a part of that dance, but also some of its senior architects."

"Is this theory well-accepted among your scientific colleagues?"

Unalaq's voice trembled with fury. "No."

"No further questions."

Rengan glanced at Osamu, who shook his head. "Fine, then. I have a question for you, Professor. Why do you know so much about the Avatar State?"

"I make it a point to know everything," Unalaq replied. "Specifically, however, it is because I will be personally instructing the Avatar Korra in how to control the Avatar State." His dark eyes met hers. "I look forward to our lessons together."

Osamu stood. "The defense rests, Your Honor."

"Vey well!" Rengan banged his gavel. "We will have a recess for twenty minutes. I need to stretch my legs. I would like to see the two attorneys in my chambers. I would also appreciate the company of Captain Feng and Avatar Korra."

Unalaq stood and walked out without a glance back. Korra was grateful for the opportunity to stretch, but Osamu looked nervous.

"It's not normal to ask a witness and the defendant into his chambers," he said. "Then again, nothing is normal about that Rengan. They say he has connections to the Hakka tribe."

"Uh…." Korra tried to place the name. "From the North Pole?"

Osamu nodded. "It's your choice. Want to go?"

"Can't hurt," Korra said. Osamu's face disagreed.

"Don't speak out of turn, don't say anything he doesn't already know from today's trial, and be very polite."

Korra nodded. They walked through the door to Judge Rengan's chamber.


	12. Public Relations

Judge Rengan's chamber was small and darkly lit. The two attorneys, Police Captain Feng and Korra stood nearly shoulder-to-shoulder in the narrow space before Judge Rengan's desk.

Rengan steepled his fingers in front of his face. "Police Captain Feng, I asked you to join us here in order to keep a firm grip on the Avatar, should our accused criminal attempt to harm any members of the public."

Feng stiffed. "Yes sir."

Regan's eyes never moved from Korra. "But I understand the police are unwilling or unable to contain the Avatar?"

Korra grinned. "Really?" Tenzin's lawyer touched her arm.

"She's not a metalbender," Feng said, "So a metal cage should do just fine. Although I suppose this Avatar State puts even that into question. But there are also, uh, some of the officers believe that..."

"Religious matters," Rengan said. "I understand."

Minh coughed. "The original plea bargain reflected this reality."

"Which was rejected," Rengan said, "And rightly so. There must be no special rules for the Avatar."

"Why not?" Korra said bluntly. "I have a destiny to bring balance. Locking me up will just hurt people."

"Perhaps it is your destiny to spend a few years in jail," Rengan said. He looked displeased. Then he smiled. "Or perhaps the guilt of your crimes will spur you to spend the rest of your life in solemn duty to the world."

"Yup, that one," Korra said. "The second one." Osamu touched her arm again.

"The jury will find you guilty," Rengan said. "Unalaq is the only one who can speak to the nature of your Avatar State, and he is...not disliked, but..."

"You might as well have a spirit testify on her behalf," Osamu said sourly.

Rengan nodded. "Exactly."

Minh didn't look pleased to have won. "The Avatar will be sent to jail then?"

"I'm considering it," Rengan said. "But perhaps there's a way out."

Korra didn't like the way they were talking about her as if she wasn't there. "I thought there weren't supposed to be any special rules for the Avatar?"

"I can do favors for whomever I wish," Rengan said. "Whether you are the Avatar is irrelevant."

"That's not true," Korra said. Osamu gripped her arm and squeezed.

Rengan turned to Minh. "Perhaps we can pin things on Tenzin? He is her master, and she is his responsibility."

"It is a possibility," Minh agreed.

Korra shook Osamu off. "Don't you dare, or I'll..." She stopped. It was probably a bad idea to threaten to burn them all. Control, control, breathe, breathe. "Someone died because of what I did. I shouldn't be allowed to get away with that?"

"You want to go to jail?"

"No. But still. Not even the Avatar should get away with this."

"Oh, brother," Rengan sighed. "Eventually it comes out. Fine, I've made my decision."

He dismissed them. Korra protested, but Rengan snapped and Osamu managed to pull her out.

The trial reconvened. Then it halted again while the jury went to deliberate. Twenty minutes later they were back. Korra was found guilty of all charges and sentenced to thirty years in prison. Rengan banged his gavel. The trial ended. A bailiff came and escorted Korra away while the crowd exited. Twenty minutes later he brought her out again. Osamu filed an appeal to the verdict based on some long string of precedents, which Judge Rengan accepted. He banged his gavel. The appeal began. It ended ten minutes later as Minh and Rengan capitulated to all of Osamu's demands. Korra's sentence was extended along one margin and reduced along another. Instead of thirty years of prison she was tasked with "...Lifelong pursuit of justice and peace with utmost feasance to the laws of Republic City, bound forever in service to the City and her people."

Rengan banged his gavel. He looked at Korra. "Earn this."

"I intend to."

* * *

Korra crept along the rooftops. No wolfbats here. They had learned the roofs belonged to her.

Below her quarry waited in an alley, smoking cigarettes and saying little. They wore identical jackets bearing the signs of earth, fire and water. Someone wanted to sell stolen art. They had agreed to the deal, but they brought knives and pipes, not money. The Triple Threat Triad monopolized the underground art trade, and they weren't about to give it up.

At least, that's what Mako had said. Korra didn't care about art. The Triple Threat Triad was bad, they would take them down, whatever. But Mako liked to talk about his plans.

"Bolin's the bait," Mako explained. "He'll come driving from the south side. They'll think he's the fence. They'll be mad about the Satocycle, but they won't do anything, and it'll mask _our_ Satocycles. The rest of the Fire Ferrets. Then he makes a wall and they're trapped."

"And that's where I come in." Korra rubbed her fist. "These are bad guys, huh?"

"The worst," Mako said. "That's why we need the Batbender."

A light and a roar drew their eyes to the left. Bolin was coming. The lights of the cigarettes disappeared underneath dark boots. Korra exhaled fire. Soon she would get to attack.

As the Triad members turned their gaze towards Bolin's approaching figure, Mako led the other Fire Ferrets around the corner. The Triad thugs whipped around, then back only to see walls where there had been a clear road before. That's when Korra jumped.

The earth isn't hard. It's full of holes, space, pockets of air that can compress under sufficient force. While the earth isn't viscous, it has viscosity. While the earth isn't elastic, it has elasticity. So as Korra plummeted to the earth, the ground looked to her a lot more like a trampoline than a solid surface.

But instead of rebounding off the ground, an earthbender could redirect the force along the faults in the earth. She wouldn't rebound off the earth, the earth would rebound off of her, the force spiking up in pillars or else obliterate the ground altogether. To a non-earthbender standing on the ground when an earthbender hit it, the experience was said to be like the earth convulsing after getting hit in the gut.

Korra hit the earth. Four of the Triad thugs were flung to the ground. A fifth kept his footing. Korra burned him. He lost his footing. The Fire Ferrets made sure they didn't get up again.

"Nice, clean, easy," Mako said. "That's how I like it. Good job, everyone."

Korra stamped her feet against the ground. "Metalbenders coming in five minutes to pick them up."

"No reason to hang around," Bolin grunted.

"Korra, I'll take this Satocycle back for you," Mako said, picking up the least-mangled metal bike. "We'll teach you how to ride it."

"Sounds fun," Korra said. "See you at the gym."

* * *

Tenzin took the newspaper from Pema and turned to the front page.

**Batbender Strikes Again!**  
**Terror of the Triads!**

"Korra!"

* * *

Satocycles were fun, but Korra was more at home on the rooftops. She knew the city better from above than in the midst of the crowds. Their target was on the move this time, gunning through the city on their noisy bikes. Korra couldn't run as fast as a Satocycle, but she could travel more efficiently.

So focused was she on keeping up with the gangsters Mako wanted taken out that she almost didn't notice the dark figures shadowing her across the cables that connected the city.

She kept pretending not to notice them until it was clear their numbers were increasing. No time to waste. On the next step she would kick the roof in one direction and stream fire in the other.

But a line of metal cables crisscrossed her vision. Could she get away with attacking metalbenders? Or...better not.

A figure landed in front of her. Even in the dark her face looked stern.

"Beifong," Korra said. "You're back."

"Vigilantism is illegal, Korra."

"I didn't hear the metalbenders coming."

Beifong tapped her foot on the roof. "We changed our codes."

"Darn." Korra grinned. "I'll have to ask Captain Feng for the new ones."

"You must obey the laws. There will no longer be any leniency."

If that was true, why wasn't she arresting her right now? "There's crime everywhere. Why aren't you doing something about it?"

"Unlike you," Beifong said coldly, "We are bound by due process."

"I don't know what that is."

"I know. Would you like to learn?"

Korra paused. "What?"

"The police force is undergoing some changes in response to recent events." Beifong's lip curled."How..." She clenched her fists. "How would you like to learn metalbending?"

* * *

Mako turned his gaze away from the rooftops. The metalbenders had caught up with Korra. She could take care of herself in a fight, and Tenzin was protecting her. Not his problem. They had a target to eliminate.

The Triple Thread Triad was nothing more than stragglers now. The Equalists had cut their head off, and the Fire Ferrets had burned away every inch of flesh in reach. All that maintained them was their reputation. Before long even that would be ripped away from them, and then a war for their turf would begin. Mako intended to win that war.

This time they had a hostage. A girl, judging by her thin frame. Did they seriously think he would care? More important was the deep shadows that could have been hiding bodies or even a narrow road. Mako barked an order to Bolin, who swerved down a different path. He could come through the walls as a surprise reinforcement.

With Korra potentially out of the action and the complication of whatever this hostage meant, it would be prudent to call off the strike. But the city was ripe for change and the Triad reeling from the repeated blows. Mako didn't want to lose any momentum.

Times like these called for some new tricks. Mako ignored the nervous mutterings of the Fire Ferrets around him and focused on separating his yin and yang energy. His yin flowed down his right arm into his fingers, and his yang energy flowed down the left.

The pull between them was nearly overwhelming. The two energies wanted to be together. Keeping them apart created an agitation which turned into a charge. The longer the separation, the greater the charge. Still, anything longer than two seconds was suicidal.

For centuries lightningbending was supposed to be nothing more than a rumor. The royal family of the Fire Nation no longer even dignified queries about the veracity of lightningbending with a response. How Zolt had ever uncovered the truth, Mako didn't know. But Zolt was gone, and now Mako was the only one who knew the secret.

The street glowed white-blue for the blink of an eye. A thunderclap spread out across the city.

Mako inspected his red scarf for frayed ends while the Ferrets picked themselves off the ground. Four bodies lay at the end of the street. The light had shown no one hiding in the shadows.

"You want to explain what the plan was?" he called to the "hostage."

"I do," she said. Her voice was surprisingly feminine. She walked forward. "You killed my bodyguard."

"He didn't identify himself."

"I didn't know you could bend li-"

"I can't."

"Of course."

She was close enough that he could make out her face through the distant light of the lampposts. She was beautiful, with dark hair that fell past her shoulders and a pale complexion. Mako gripped the handlebars of his bike. "That's close enough. What's your game?"

She stopped. "No game but yours. I heard about the Batbender targeting organized crime, and I also heard about a rogue Satocycle gang doing the same thing. Coincidence? My prior says no."

"Prior what?"

She sighed. "Thanks to your magical powers, Shin Shady is dead. Now I have to find a new bodyguard."

"Look elsewhere, lady." Shin Shady was dead? He had been around since the old days, hustling, enforcing, doing everything for the boss. Like many of the Triple Threats, Mako had depended on him more than once.

"I was thinking we might reach a different agreement," the woman said. Despite her casual demeanor, Mako could see she was shaking. Was that the shock of the lightning bolt, seeing her bodyguard die, or confronting him? "I know quite a bit about your current operation. I like that you're after something more than power for its own sake. But what your Ferrets need is, ah...a public relations manager."

"What are you proposing?"

"I give you funds, training, equipment, housing. I make you guys king of more turf than you could ever get on your own, and legitimate too. Out of the shadows, living in swanky places, eating rich food and getting a tipped helmet from every metalbender who passes you. In return, you hit my targets, follow my plan."

"No."

"You wouldn't have to give up your own goals, only obtain mine concurrently."

"Don't know what that means, and no."

The woman folded her arms across her chest. "It's in your own best interest. That bolt you used to kill my bodyguard confirmed everything. You are Mako. You have a younger brother, Bolin. Your mother died in childbirth and your father in a street fight, leaving you two to fend for yourselves on the streets. Eventually 'Lightning Bolt' Zolt took you in." She smiled mirthlessly. "I suppose he must have taught you some of his tricks. You escaped him and somehow managed to avoid his grasp for years, which no one else had managed before. I find it rather intriguing."

"Intrigue away, lady," Mako said. "I'm not in the mood for games. We don't tolerate people with big mouths on the street. They get burned."

"Don't be hasty. If I don't return, your brother Bolin won't last a week."

"So it's blackmail?"

"Merely buying my way out. I certainly wouldn't want to work with you if you were only motivated by threats."

"Damn right."

"My name is Asami Sato."

It took Mako a moment to register the name. He blinked, and the wall beside them exploded. Bolin burst through the entrance, fists at the ready.

"I saw the flash of light and didn't get a signal," he said. "I got worried."

Asami smiled. "Hello, Bolin. Your brother and I were just talking about you."

Bolin looked at Mako. "Who's this?"

"Asami Sato."

"No way!" Bolin gasped. He grabbed her hand and wrung it. "I'm Bolin! I'm such a huge fan of your father! I know everything about all of his machines, and I'm so grateful for all the academic journals he funds, and, and, what's Hiroshi Sato's daughter doing here?"

"Offering us a job," Mako said.

"Yes," Bolin said. "We accept. Can I be your friend?"

Asami chuckled. "Of course, Bolin. I didn't know you read the journals."

Mako interrupted before Bolin could start. "We're in. But don't ever try to spend that currency on anything. It's snake oil."

Bolin made puppy dog eyes at Asami. "Can I meet your dad?"


End file.
